A return to civil discourse

Hurled chairs and vile insults. Death threats. This is not what democracy looks like.

The events around the Nevada Democratic Caucuses last weekend were shameful, a representation of America at its worst. Whether or not rules were changed or delegates weren’t apportioned as activists expected — acting uncivilly is not worthy of our nation. These actions corrode our democratic process.

The actions of the few do not represent the whole. Bystanders in Nevada were not complicit in this violence and incivility, but they’re certainly are not without responsibility.

They could have — and should have — stopped this from happening, but they didn’t. Sen. Sanders rightly denounced the violence, but did not call on his supporters to change their behavior.

Americans are angry, and rightfully so. Congress is virtually nonfunctional, the Supreme Court is one justice short and unable to compete its work. Millions of Americans feel disenfranchised: that their representatives aren’t listening and that the wealthiest are running the show.

But this anger does not give anyone a free pass to be uncivil.

Outrage does not make violence acceptable. It does not grant the right to disrespect peers, to hurl insults, to threaten.

If we are to fix what’s wrong with our country, to move forward into a bright future, we must work together. We must find respect for those whose views do not align with our own.

The greatest tests of America’s mettle were not solved through violence. Martin Luther King Jr. helped usher in the Civil Rights Act through nonviolent protest.

His was a campaign of respect, not violence. America did not defeat fascism through violent infighting among fellow Americans.

We did it together, each person doing his or her part. NASA engineers didn’t solve their differences with fistfights when they reached the moon. We accomplished these things withcivility,together.

It is important to remember that civility isn’t suppression of free speech. The First Amendment is the cornerstone of our nation, and all Americans deserve the right to say what they believe. Civility is about respect — a recognition that the person at the other end of the argument is a person, not a rhetorical punching bag.

When you shout at someone, when you throw a chair, when you leave death threats on their voicemail — their voice isn’t heard. And that’s not what American democracy looks like.

Going forward, this election has to be about respecting our differences.

At this point, this election is more contentious, more divisive than any other election in decades. Politicians on all sides are ratcheting up their language to rile their supporters — a “Get Out the Vote” drive of the worst kind.

But the rest of us cannot be content to just watch from the sidelines. We must expect more from our leaders.

We must hold them to a higher standard and expect them to represent the core of our democracy and show respect for all Americans, no matter who they are.

It is up to us to demand more from those who ask for our votes. We need to demand they act like leaders.

Dr. Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer is the executive director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse. As a leader in the field of deliberative democracy, she works to restore our democracy to reflect the intended vision of our Founding Fathers.