The angry rhetoric that percolates through most discussions of politics is doing damage to the fabric of our society. I don’t think that it has ever been this bad in our history.
We have freedom of speech. However, we do not have freedom from responsibility for how we exercise the right to say what we want. If you want to change someone’s mind, the worst thing to do is insult him or her. When people get hurt, they dig deeper into their beliefs.
Here are some suggestions to use when discussing politics: First, don’t insult families, don’t insult religion and don’t make fun of people’s bodies. I call these, “The no-fly zones for discussing anything controversial.”
We teach our kids to be respectful. We should model respectful behavior.
— Spruce Lynch
Anchorage
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