com·i·ty /ˈkämədē/
- Courtesy and considerate behavior toward others.
I was perusing a magazine the other day and one article’s headers popped: 1. There’s never an excuse for bad manners. 2. History smiles kindly on quiet resilience. 3. It also enjoys a good joke. 4. Know when to leave the party. I did laugh because the article turned out to be a history lesson and did reference the famously boorish orange citizen it implied. Now that the Twitter temperature has been turned down, can America step away from the screen to embrace our better natures?
Civility, deference, cordiality, honesty: when, exactly, did these traits we used to admire and embrace begin to be denigrated in the American culture as weaknesses? How do we adjust the narrative? How do we counteract the fear that led to tribalism and embrace the olive branch of normalcy that has been extended? How do we inspire the bravery in our leaders and each other to enforce the rebuilding of social infrastructure and “social commons: public libraries, public universities, public events, civic society, environmental consciousness (see ‘Comity Rising’)?”
We have come through a tremendously trying year. Even after losing so many and facing great economic and existential challenges, so many rose to support others with grace and goodwill. In this issue our authors address the reemergence of the idea of comity in both civil and governmental ways; the issues of inequity and social safety nets; human connection across barriers–generational, social, racial; the interconnectedness of species; the philosophy of America’s founders; and the need to name the ideologies that prevent comity from thriving.
Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. -Thomas Edison, inventor (11 Feb 1847-1931)
Leave a Reply