My hope is for a civil political conversation

Now that we ended a tumultuous presidential election year and had the inauguration, I challenge people to show civility. Civility is more than being polite. It is a moral act of respect for other human beings. We don’t need to be unpleasant, distasteful, offensive, nasty, bad-tempered or rude.

I can be uncivil and say, “Trump is an idiot for not believing in climate change. What does he know?” Or I can be civil and say, “I am concerned about Trump’s views on climate change. I hope he is able to be open to listening to the scientific community.”

The need for civility goes for pro- and anti-everything and all parties. When we disagree, let’s do it without being disagreeable.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 1:12 PM with the headline "My hope is for a civil political conversation."