I've been around for almost eighty years, much of it in the corporate world. I was brought up to say 'Yes, sir' and 'Yes, maam' to my elders and give other people respect, even when I disagreed with them. That was then, this is now.

The lack of civility and respect that much of the society now enjoys is an anathema to me. I understand that what I have to say and what I believe is of no consequence to most of this forum. They could care less, unless it conformed to their way of thinking and worldview. But to have it attacked not with logic and facts, but with gutter talk and fabrications that cannot be proven is, to me, totally wrong.

There is economic stratification in the society. There is cultural stratification as well. But the increasing lack of civility and respect for other viewpoints than your own is alarming to say the least.

When I look at the crowd behind the Donald at Trump rallies, what I see are the ringside faces at a WWE wrestling match, complete with booing the villain and cheering the hero. They seem to be there for the entertainment, not the purpose. And the Donald doesn't disappoint.
That crowd wants to hear that immigrants are bad, the media is all 'fake news', and the only one that you can believe is the Donald himself. In other words, they want red meat and they want it now.
To them, facts don't matter … what the Donald says does. If what he says doesn't fit reality, he (and they) just change reality to match the verbiage.
I won't go into the vast number of lies, mistruths, factual warps and just plain fiction that comprises a large part of the rally speeches that he gives … you can find it for yourself on Fox News, Breitbart's website or InfoWars.
Most of it is ugly, vicious, and hurtful. But to watch the crowd behind him, this is the greatest information since Moses brought down the Ten Commandments.
What it is isn't reality television, nor is it reality politics. It's the same as what the carnival barker tells the tip to get them to come inside, or the snake oil salesman rattles off to sell nostrums to the unwitting populace. And the continue to fall for it after all these years.
The Roma of Europe (gypsies to you uninformed beings) have perfected this art over many centuries, and as a result have to stay on the move across many countries until the populations forget the scams.
All this rhetoric is nothing new. What is new is that the violent sectors of the society now find it more acceptable to act on their prejudices with the end result being this week's shootings and bombings.
What changed?
The atmospherics changed when the Donald descended that escalator and called border crossers 'rapists, murderers' and worse. He popped the top of that bottle of seltzer water and it proceeded to foam and bubble.
All the restraints that have been in place since the late nineteenth century as to what comprises acceptable conduct have been ripped up and thrown in the trashbin of the 'elites and mainstream' codes of ethics and conduct.
Here in OPP, the lack of civility and the disparagement of opposing views is rampant. It has devolved into the rabble of the pit at Shakespeare's Avon theater that threw rotten vegetables at actors that they didn't like. Here, we've replaced the veggies with words designed to destroy the credibility of your opponent and/or their entire personality.

If you truly believe in your political views or religious affiliation, you should have no problem in listening to other viewpoints and politely discussing them.
That old legal adage fits quite well here:
"If the facts aren't on your side, argue the law.
If the law isn't on your side, argue the facts.
If neither the law or the facts are on your side, bang on the table and howl loudly at the jury."
What I'm hearing is a lot of howling with not much (if anything) to back up what is presented.
If you're so hidebound that you can't accept any idea that conflicts with your worldview, then I feel truly sorry for you. A lot of you need to take a look at yourselves in the mirror and ask yourselves the question … 'do I truly like what I am?' and 'would I like to be treated like what I see in the invective of the present day?' If you answered 'yes' to either or both of those questions, then you're right up there ringside at WWE. If you answered 'no' to either of them, then a serious reevaluation of who you are and what you believe is in order.

To quote Lincoln … "The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here." I don't expect that this piece of my mind will change any of yours, nor do I expect that my way of thinking is going to be accepted. The call of the pit and the ringside seat are waaaaaaaaaaaaay too appealing to a lot of folks.

I've been around for almost eighty years, much of it in the corporate world. I was brought up to say 'Yes, sir' and 'Yes, maam' to my elders and give other people respect, even when I disagreed with them. That was then, this is now.

The lack of civility and respect that much of the society now enjoys is an anathema to me. I understand that what I have to say and what I believe is of no consequence to most of this forum. They could care less, unless it conformed to their way of thinking and worldview. But to have it attacked not with logic and facts, but with gutter talk and fabrications that cannot be proven is, to me, totally wrong.

There is economic stratification in the society. There is cultural stratification as well. But the increasing lack of civility and respect for other viewpoints than your own is alarming to say the least.

When I look at the crowd behind the Donald at Trump rallies, what I see are the ringside faces at a WWE wrestling match, complete with booing the villain and cheering the hero. They seem to be there for the entertainment, not the purpose. And the Donald doesn't disappoint.
That crowd wants to hear that immigrants are bad, the media is all 'fake news', and the only one that you can believe is the Donald himself. In other words, they want red meat and they want it now.
To them, facts don't matter … what the Donald says does. If what he says doesn't fit reality, he (and they) just change reality to match the verbiage.
I won't go into the vast number of lies, mistruths, factual warps and just plain fiction that comprises a large part of the rally speeches that he gives … you can find it for yourself on Fox News, Breitbart's website or InfoWars.
Most of it is ugly, vicious, and hurtful. But to watch the crowd behind him, this is the greatest information since Moses brought down the Ten Commandments.
What it is isn't reality television, nor is it reality politics. It's the same as what the carnival barker tells the tip to get them to come inside, or the snake oil salesman rattles off to sell nostrums to the unwitting populace. And the continue to fall for it after all these years.
The Roma of Europe (gypsies to you uninformed beings) have perfected this art over many centuries, and as a result have to stay on the move across many countries until the populations forget the scams.
All this rhetoric is nothing new. What is new is that the violent sectors of the society now find it more acceptable to act on their prejudices with the end result being this week's shootings and bombings.
What changed?
The atmospherics changed when the Donald descended that escalator and called border crossers 'rapists, murderers' and worse. He popped the top of that bottle of seltzer water and it proceeded to foam and bubble.
All the restraints that have been in place since the late nineteenth century as to what comprises acceptable conduct have been ripped up and thrown in the trashbin of the 'elites and mainstream' codes of ethics and conduct.
Here in OPP, the lack of civility and the disparagement of opposing views is rampant. It has devolved into the rabble of the pit at Shakespeare's Avon theater that threw rotten vegetables at actors that they didn't like. Here, we've replaced the veggies with words designed to destroy the credibility of your opponent and/or their entire personality.

If you truly believe in your political views or religious affiliation, you should have no problem in listening to other viewpoints and politely discussing them.
That old legal adage fits quite well here:
"If the facts aren't on your side, argue the law.
If the law isn't on your side, argue the facts.
If neither the law or the facts are on your side, bang on the table and howl loudly at the jury."
What I'm hearing is a lot of howling with not much (if anything) to back up what is presented.
If you're so hidebound that you can't accept any idea that conflicts with your worldview, then I feel truly sorry for you. A lot of you need to take a look at yourselves in the mirror and ask yourselves the question … 'do I truly like what I am?' and 'would I like to be treated like what I see in the invective of the present day?' If you answered 'yes' to either or both of those questions, then you're right up there ringside at WWE. If you answered 'no' to either of them, then a serious reevaluation of who you are and what you believe is in order.

To quote Lincoln … "The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here." I don't expect that this piece of my mind will change any of yours, nor do I expect that my way of thinking is going to be accepted. The call of the pit and the ringside seat are waaaaaaaaaaaaay too appealing to a lot of folks.

Sir I was raised the same way and I also believe in facts and to quote president Trump "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with them. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapist. And some, I assume, are good people." that is what he said when he descended on the escalator, that is fact not the same as the interpretation you gave. You operate just like most of the media (with their fake news) drop a word here add one there and distort the entire statement. And as to your analogy about laws and facts me thinks this is a profound and accurate definition of the leftist liberals of today. And sir I disagree with you with every fiber of my being !!!!!!

Sir I was raised the same way and I also believe in facts and to quote president Trump "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with them. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapist. And some, I assume, are good people." that is what he said when he descended on the escalator, that is fact not the same as the interpretation you gave. You operate just like most of the media (with their fake news) drop a word here add one there and distort the entire statement. And as to your analogy about laws and facts me thinks this is a profound and accurate definition of the leftist liberals of today. And sir I disagree with you with every fiber of my being !!!!!!

I cannot speak for others, only myself. As to incivility in the hearings, I assume that you are referring to the sexual allegations made against him. If that is your sole criteria for incivility, then you have no grounds for the charge. If you mean that by questioning him hard on the allegations it was uncivil, then I would suggest that you go back and look at the transcripts of the Army/McCarthy hearings or the impeachment hearings of Richard Nixon. Or any number of other occasions where the rhetoric was heated and people were screaming their heads off.