The election cycles of recent years have been fraught with the most vitriolic personal attacks on the persons running for public office while frank civil dialog on the issues have taken a back seat. Not that this is new in our history, but the sheer volume of the personal attacks that they have become the norm is more than troubling. It seems that many of us, individuals, politicians, media personalities, have lost the ability to be civil in our civic discourse.
As I sat down to create this blogpost I Googled: images "civic." It never occurred to me that seconds later I would be staring at a computer screen with a page full of images of the Honda Civic automobile! Where were images from Civics class, government in action, legislators, the president? My first thought was - really - the word civic is consumer based rather than a word to describe the way citizens in a democracy participate respectfully in government as a right and a responsibility every day not just during election cycles. My disappointment was palpable.
It is clear that I have a lot more to think about as I realize that our schools continue to struggle with budget cuts that reduce academic offerings including the watering down of Civics courses while athletics continue to be a priority. Still thinkin'...civilly of course.
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