As already mentioned here, Sunday afternoon Feb. 9, I participated in a League of Women Voters forum in Dothan to debate the pros and cons of Amendment One. I opposed the measure. Senator Greg Albritton from Atmore supported it.
I had done my homework and so had he. We both spoke with passion and conviction. There was no doubt we were on opposite sides.
However, we were friends when we got there and we were friends when we left.
I respect Greg and the fact that he was duly elected by the majority of voters in his senate district. He certainly has a right to his viewpoint and his opinions. I have no doubt he feels the same about me.
Our exchanges were lively and even interspersed with moments of laughter and good will.
In other words, we were civil.
And as I drove back home to Montgomery, I couldn’t help but think of how what had just played out was in such stark contrast to what we see far too often in politics these days, especially in Washington. Both civility and respect have become four letter words in the nation’s capital where if someone disagrees with you they are usually ridiculed, berated and the object of insults.
We are destroying what is most dear to this republic. The presumption that as a whole we are better than the sum of all our parts. That all citizens should be treated with dignity, not chastised because they don’t think like we do.
I understand better than most that 2020 is an election year and that in such times, passion often replaces common sense. But even so, even that does not condone so much of the junk we see on TV and Facebook right now.
It is shameful.
Of course, I will vote NO on amendment one. And Greg will vote YES.
But to me, the larger lesson of this forum was not so much about the pros and cons of this legislation as it was that civil discourse and disagreement can–and should–be conducted with civility.
When it is not, we are all diminished.
