Take the Charles Krauthammer Road
The recent news on Charles Krauthammerâs terminal cancer is a reminder of the chasm between the snarling debates we hear every day and the reasoned, respectful and constructive commentary we could always count on from him. Godspeed, Mr. K. Â / jcdÂ
Itâs hard to imagine the level of our political discourse in the US sinking any lower. Todayâs conversations on political matters are not spoken, they are shouted. Obscenity is commonplace. Insults are hurled in all directions â toward people who post on Facebook, toward TV panelists with opposing views, toward the President of the United States.
More and more, the term âcivil discourseâ seems like an oxymoron.
Every bit as depressing as the vile language is the way it is perceived by public and media. Whether behavior is applauded or condemned seems to depend solely on the political orientation of the individual passing judgment.
Roseanne Barr, a TV sitcom personality whose well-worn routine is to demean just about everyone, became the darling of the right when she took on the role of ardent Trump supporter. But that ended with her notoriously racist tweet targeting former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. Within hours, she was summarily fired by ABC.
At about the same time, relatively obscure cable TV comic Samantha Bee opened her weekly show with an obscene and misogynistic smear of the presidentâs daughter, Ivanka Trump. Unlike Barrâs Twitter outburst, Beeâs words were scripted, vetted, pre-recorded and televised â clearly a premeditated verbal assault. Â She subsequently offered a tepid apology and is now back on the air, unscathed and better known.
Wade through the wall-to-wall commentary about these unseemly eruptions and you find two entirely different viewpoints. Progressive Democrats assert that because Barrâs comments were racist, her firing was completely appropriate; and they maintain that Beeâs comments, while tasteless, were not really that shocking for an âedgyâ comic and had been intended to call attention to an important issue.
Conservative Republicans come down on exactly the opposite corner â they are appalled by the double standard and they find nothing remotely redeeming about Beeâs tirade.
Shift to the sporting world. Before the NBA finals, both the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers announced with great fanfare that if invited to the White House they would never accept - as Cav superstar Lebron James explained, âwhile he (Donald Trump) is thereâ. The presidentâs rejoinder: no problem, I wonât invite you.
The Philadelphia Eagles, reigning Super Bowl champs, had accepted their White House invitation and planned to attend with a full contingent of players, coaches and staff - but last week they reversed field and advised that only a few individuals would attend. Trumpâs rejoinder on that one: I invited the team; if the team doesnât want to come, thatâs OK â invitation withdrawn.
Both exchanges triggered firestorms of reaction, politically aligned as usual. Conservatives applauded: thatâll teach those overpaid ingrates. Â Democrats were outraged: Trump once again shows that heâs arrogant, egotistical, uncaring.
Not to be outdone, actor Robert De Niro unleashed a series of F-epithets at President Trump at Sunday eveningâs nationally televised Tony Awards â to a standing ovation from the adoring theater crowd and shoulder shrug from most media.
These episodes are just fragments of a steadily deteriorating discourse â angry, ugly, insulting language, met with wholly polarized response. In each case, while the offensive comments may have been engendered by heartfelt concerns (e.g., immigration policy, police brutality), the ensuing uproars largely ignored those issues and served only to cement the partisan divide. Nothing constructive was achieved, by anyone, on either side.
There is a far better model for us all to follow, recently called to our attention by a sad turn of events. A few days ago we learned that conservative political commentator Charles Krauthammer is in the final stages of his losing battle with terminal cancer. For decades Krauthammer has been respected by all sides for his thoughtful commentary on current events.
Charles Krauthammer is an intellectual heavyweight who writes and speaks with uncommon clarity. He never preaches, he doesnât wave his arms or try to yell louder. He just lays out facts and offers cogent analysis. And he consistently takes the high road.
Krauthammer revealed his dire medical situation in an extraordinarily candid, dignified open letter. In it he stated:Â
âI believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nationâs destinyâ.
Letâs follow his lead. Can we notpass up the obscenity and snarling insults, and in their place confront the critical issues of our time with Krauthammerâs âhonest debate and rigorous argumentâ?
What a difference that would make.
