By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: July 26, 2018 3:17 PM

Oh, we hypocrites, we charlatans, we cry out for civility but only respond to the negative ads, the attacks, the dragging out of whatever irrelevant attitude from decades ago a candidate espoused to show how he or she cannot be trusted today.

Actually, it’s all part of evolutionary genetic makeup. We want the happy and joyous, or so we say, yet all we pay attention to is the dismal and despairing. Hey, it’s true. Reporters are asked why we print only bad news, the truth is nobody really wants good news. There is science behind this. The stories people pay more attention almost always have to do with death and sex rather than infrastructure repair. No really, it’s been tested.

For decades now we have mourned the loss of civility in our politics. Governor Rick Snyder has now published a letter calling for greater civility. It has been signed by more than 600 people, both Democrats and Republicans.

It was signed by Lt. Governor Brian Calley before he accused Attorney General Bill Schuette of basically not showing up to work. It has been signed by Mr. Schuette, after he essentially accused Mr. Calley of also clocking out early and often.

Mr. Snyder’s letter has been scorned by some. The Metro Times, for example, ran a piece saying screw civility (screw was not the word they used), “we want justice.”

Mr. Snyder’s letter does not define civility. We presume it to be a value commonly held and understood. Clearly it is not.

Essentially, to be civil, we must accept most people at face value, we must accept that they have the same basic interests – a secure income for they and their family, safe and pleasant neighborhoods, good schools, a type of security that cares for their needs through life – and don’t want to cheat other people to get those values. We know we can approach the same question from different sides and still find an answer that will suit us all. To be civil we understand that public servants serve people not ideologies.

Today, we no longer see the commonality in each other. We are self-isolating ourselves into tribes, hiding ourselves from people who we think do not agree with our perspective. There is research on this, of people moving into neighborhoods to be closer to like-minded folks. Friends of ours who live in Macomb County and supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election said they felt intimidated by their disapproving President Donald Trump-supporting neighbors.

We don’t see fellow human beings, we see enemies. We think, I will compromise when you surrender. It’s a strategy. It has worked, so It is now the strategy of all of us. It is a strategy that leaves common humanity broken and bleeding in the gutter.

There is an answer, there is a way to restore civility in America’s vibrant, beautiful land. There is a way that does not require a horrific tragedy to bring us together. To restore civility you must:

Get them all drunk.

I’m not kidding. Three and four decades ago, Lansing was a civil place, so was Washington, Columbus, Austin, Salem, wherever, because people socialized together, got drunk together. And there was a lot of drinking, but here is the point: you get people to relax, to eat together, drink together, swap jokes, talk about their homes, their kids, their parents.

And after about the third or fourth beer, people start telling the stories they don’t talk about: trying to find doctors for sick children, trying to hold onto a house when they were out of work, how their brother died in Vietnam or the Gulf or Iraq, how their old man was a bastard but their mother was an angel, or how the old man was broken by uncaring bosses, or how their mom worked three jobs after dad died young. The stories that get everyone rubbing their eyes, slapping people on the back, saying you’re a good man or a good gal and God bless you and we gotta do this again.

Republicans will still be Republicans, Democrats will still be Democrats. There will still be tough campaigns, but not so much bloodshed. In fact, candidates will actually say to their opponents after the elections, “I’m sorry, I had to run that ad.” And the opponent will say, “It’s okay, I know you did. I would.” I have heard this said.

It’s not just politicians that need to do this. Politicians spring from all the people. All the people therefore need to socialize, leave their bunkers and get to know each other again.

Get ’em drunk, and they will see that the enemy is whoever is pointing a gun at them, not someone who pulls a different lever in the voting booth. You want civility, get people into a bar and set up the drinks.