THERE WAS A TIME WHEN POLITICIANS MINDED THEIR MANNERS

…Donald Trump using foul language

 

In the past, attacking a politician’s family was out of bounds.

 

There is a phenomena that is occurring with the 2016 election that has not occurred in a national election at this level for many decades, if it ever did before.

 

That new issue is the offering of verbal invectives, of insults, and of the coarseness, the vulgar slurs and the foul language that have now characterized this election, at least on the GOP side.

 

Many of these politicians are saying that in order to be “real” and to indicate the authentic problems in today’s society, they must use a kind of gung-ho guttural language throughout their political campaigns.

 

The nation’s political writers are now starting to record that the 2016 GOP primary elections will be best remembered for childish comments, for the scurrilous attack on some of the candidates wives, for vulgar references to the candidates body parts and as a generally nasty and negative event.

 

There is no doubt that with the introductions of cable and reality TV, the idea of circumventing proper manners and regularly using course or vulgar language has become the status quo for some. 

 

In former elections, it had not been the custom of calling the political competition, out-right liars.  Instead, the appropriate way was to say that the opposition’s statement was “incorrect” or that they had “improperly stated the truth of the situation”.

 

However today, it has become very common for one candidate to refer to their competitors as “Lyin Ted”, or “Choker Rubio” and “Low Energy Bush”.

 

The current Republican front-runner continues to use foul language and offensive references as his way of refusing to be called “politically correct”.  In fact, the candidate continues to say the real problem with today’s politics is that the Washington politicians are always too “politically correct”.  This candidate says, these politicians don’t tell it like it is, but he does!  Really?

 

The problem with this particular candidate is that most of what he proposes as solutions would never work in the real world and his assumptions of what is real, are totally without substance.

 

This candidates puts his focus on recommending absurd things like building a southern border wall, and having Mexico pay for it.  His idea of re-writing or ignoring the 14^th amendment on Civil Rights by rounding up and deporting 11 million immigrants.  His idea of not taking nuclear weapons off the negotiating table with other nations.  His also wants to re-visit the Geneva Convention and make torture acceptable.  All of these ideas, and many more off-the-wall concepts such as not only killing the terrorists, but killing their family members as well.  These are the commonly acceptable discussion subjects with this leading  GOP candidate.

 

The issue according to this candidate is to give the people the “real scoop”, no matter how insulting the process may be.  His idea is that this is the proper approach for dealing with the American people.

 

Well, if what was being offered was correct and honest, that would usually be a good thing.  Unfortunately, with what’s coming from this candidate, it’s more like immature comments from a rude, selfish, spoiled brat.  When this candidate doesn’t get his way, or when he feels he has been treated unfairly, he acts like the playground bully who also owns the basketball.  When he’s not getting his way, he just, “Quits and takes his ball and goes home! Na na na na na na.”

 

You will recall the lack of manners and values I had previously stated regarding today’s reality television, such as those staged TV feuds.  Well, personal attacks with all their expletives are normal activity within today's political realm.  And it is a serious way of showing off the new lower level of our social decay.

 

Our Founding Fathers were very aware of what they expected during serious debate, especially when they understood that the country would eventually be run by America's average citizens.  No longer would the leadership be aristocracy that had been raised with the very best of education and manners.  The founders emphasized in their writings that acting with proper manners occurs when citizens can argue without it resulting in physical blows.  They made it clear that the goal was to always find a productive compromise. 

 

Unfortunately, that concept has been pooh-poohed by the current leaders of the Republican party.  Their latest leading candidate is the result of those latest endeavors.

 

“America has the best code of manners the world has ever seen,” argued Miss Manners some years ago. “That’s because it is based on respect for the individual, regardless of his or her origin. They’re also about judging people on their qualities rather than on their backgrounds. These are principles that were deliberately worked out by our Founding Fathers to assure the dignity of the individual and to keep society nonhierarchical.”

 

Americans should disagree about politics without becoming personal, physical, vicious or vulgar.  But today, where before we were all taught to not use foul language in front of children, that old concept has been abandoned in many political circles.

 

In today’s social contracts, we are supposed to still follow the old time “Do unto others….” approach.  We are supposed to treat people with respect, with the expectation that we will also be treated with respect.  But some people like a particular GOP candidate demands respect, but he only returns it selectively.  This individual is appropriately viewed as a sexist, a narcissists and a sociopath.

 

As has been offered to all of the candidates as good advice, “Those who want to be elected to serve their country, should always mind their manners.”

 

Copyright G.Ater  2016