Chip Minemyer: Chip Minemyer | Labels, incivility and modern political discourse

Oct. 28--Stung by political advertisements accusing him of opposing insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions for children even as his own young grandson suffers from cancer, U.S. Senate candidate Lou Barletta lashed out at incumbent Sen. Bob Casey Jr. for fanning the flames of incivility.

But then asked if that call for good behavior extends to the president of the United States -- who has stood with Barletta at rallies -- the candidate ignored the question, instead attempting to maneuver the spotlight off of Donald Trump and back to his own race.

"There's no civility anymore, and someone's going to get hurt," Barletta said in a meeting with the editorial board and reporters with The Tribune-Democrat.

"One thing we should have is decency," Barletta said. "We haven't seen this (level of hostility) in a long, long time."

Barletta's strategy might be called the political equivalent of philosophy's "situational ethics."

His call for civility applies to his opponent's mudslinging in the Senate campaign, but not to Trump -- the figure at the top of the lack-of-decorum food chain.

Casey, in a conference call with The Tribune-Democrat and other CNHI media outlets, said his campaign pulled the health-coverage ads in Barletta's home region of northeast Pennsylvania -- which also includes Casey's hometown of Scranton. But the ads continue to air elsewhere.

"I was not thinking about his grandson specifically, but about pre-existing conditions generally," Casey said of his decision to approve the ad, admitting that he was aware that Barletta's grandson was ill.

"I should have kept that in mind, which is a failure on my part," Casey said. "It didn't occur to me at the time."

Situational political ethics is a product of our times. A calls B names and B returns the favor, and then we all choose sides.

That might be effective in handling disputes on the playground, but it's a lousy way to govern a nation.

However, that finger-pointing approach is much simpler than actually digging into the issues, asking questions and demanding answers, and then developing a thorough and thoughtful analysis of an individual or idea.

Dave LaTorre, my friend and the proprietor of a successful public relations firm in Harrisburg, offered this on Twitter recently:

"To be a Republican on Twitter is to be routinely lectured that I have no human decency and that I look the other way when it comes to sexual assault. These ridiculous blanket condemnations are everything that's wrong with politics today."

LaTorre was right, or maybe half right. Those "blanket condemnations" impact individuals on all sides who fall prey to situational political ethics.

Labels are the tools of those pushing division in place of dialogue and analysis.

Labels -- "conservative" or "liberal"; "socialist" or "capitalist"; even "Democrat" or "Republican" -- are convenient shortcuts for those seeking to avoid the sticky trappings of discourse, for those aiming to circumvent the First Amendment ideal of a "marketplace of ideas."

A tit-for-tat exchange using labels gets us no closer to truth -- or even to reasonable consensus.

But that's how it's done in Washington, D.C., in Harrisburg -- and across social media.

The world doesn't like complex people who like to think and act for themselves. The world would rather put you in a small, simple box and stick a classification stamp on the outside.

Labels do make the process of judging easier:

--"Conservatives always think ..."

--"Liberals always say ..."

--"A Republican would never oppose ..."

--"A Democrat could never support ..."

God forbid that you feel one way some of the time or change your mind.

Black and white is what they want, when gray is where most people reside.

This system only works because we allow it, because we humans of short attention spans and cluttered brains prefer to let others do our thinking for us.

We vote straight-party because we're told to do so.

We oppose candidates of a certain party because that's easier than looking at each one individually and considering honestly one's character and actions.

Moving away from labels requires focus and time -- both in short supply.

And moving away from situational political ethics requires a willingness to look at all people through the same lens of scrutiny -- presidents, senators and would-be senators, even you and me.

So, if you want to begin an open dialogue about civility and political ethics, you'll find me firmly planted in the gray land of thoughtful discourse.

Label that what you will.

Chip Minemyer is the editor of The Tribune-Democrat and TribDem.com, and CNHI regional editor for Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio. He can be reached at 814-532-5091. Follow him on Twitter @MinemyerChip.

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