I’ve noticed two things about this presidential election I’ve never seen before. First, so few people have yard signs or expressions of support for a candidate. Second, there is a very unusual yard sign in my neighborhood. The American flag serves as the background, but the the top line simply says “Civilize It”. The fine print proclaims “Dignity Beyond The Debate” and there is a hashtag, “#CivilizeIt16”.
I’ve been around along enough to know that not everything is as it first appears, especially in politics. Many organizations with innocuous or patriotic names can have specific (and controversial) agendas. So I found the website, http://www.civilizeit.us/ , and things seem pretty straightforward — ” Join the Movement to keep a respectful dialogue this election season.” The sponsor is the Catholic Church, but everything on the website is secular and the message is simple — base debate on civility, clarity, and compassion. And I certainly can’t argue with the intent; we would all be better off positively discussing issues than what has become de rigueur for political discourse these days.