Decorum And Civility Lost

Decorum and Civility is missing in today's shuffled social order. Either nobody has it at all, or nobody has a sense of it. To refresh your memory, we all know what civility means, that of being polite; decorum maybe not so much. Webster defines decorum as behavior in keeping with good taste and decency. When was the last time you saw those traits on display, especially in the political arena? Perhaps it’s a product of the rise of a number of populist causes and technology. Donald Trump may share part of the blame. I wholeheartedly support his policies; however, I find his exaggerated persona and over-the-top political theatre antics offensive, yet got to hand it to him for calling out the mainstream media and the entrenched unelected government drones that are doing us harm. Yes, he is indeed brash and uncouth, but perhaps provoked by the incessant attacks on his person, family, and agenda that have brought out the worst in him. But using the yardstick of “Am I better off now than I was four years ago,” sentiment certainly tilts in his favor. The world is currently contemplating that tilt as well. Witness Macron groveling before China’s Xi. And Brazil’s da Silva is next in that queue, both countries’ leaders demonstrating a total absence of decorum. But again, admittedly, Trump’s Twitter rants were less than presidential, and with that, one could argue that it set the tone for a new level of divisiveness and lack of decorum. But I digress. Intelligent discussion has been replaced with shouting down speakers, cancellation, and violence. Stanford law students, for example, interesting that they are learning to mount an unbiased defense of murderers and rapists yet seem unable to tolerate a speech given by a conservative federal judge. And social media has been a potent enabler. Hiding behind the keyboard has resulted in anonymity without repercussions, and that has led to unparalleled levels of vitriol spewed into cyberspace. Malcontents the world over suspect they too can become “influencers” and cash in, causing them to engage in levels of exhibitionism online that used to get you arrested. Decorum, people. Take that transgender influencer, Dylan, who received Joe Biden’s blessing and became a spokesperson for Bud Light, with his perverse lady-face on a commemorative can, just for displaying his gender-bending on the internet for all to see. Why exactly should anyone be influenced by this mocking caricature of a 1960s housewife? Women, actual women, should be offended. There is no good taste here, but rather a significant lack of it. And why should an entire stadium care about the Dodgers fan’s attempted on-field marriage proposal before he was tackled by security? Is your life so pitiful to desire internet notoriety to the extent of interrupting the lives of 56,000 people who paid to see a baseball game? Find a nice beach at sunset and take a knee, kid. Decorum, please. I’m begging you. Yet the media seems to be on the wrong side, endorsing this bad behavior. Disgruntled? Have a complaint? Bypass HR and go directly to an AR. Just shoot the place up. Come on!  And the Tennessee legislators leading what democrats used to define as an insurrection in Nashville, thoroughly disregarding their oaths of office. Bullhorns and raised fists on the state assembly floor shouting over the state’s business. Shame. And then to cry racism and claim their constituents were being robbed of representation is just disingenuous. Remember when we used to be a nation of laws? When civility and decorum were something we were taught and then practiced. Civility and a sense of decorum were associated with being well-bred, which we once admired. Now we only apply those standards when it fits the narrative of the Woke. I cringe in regret.