In her recent column, Jamie Guerin caricatures civility as a tool of oppression [“The tyranny of politeness: How civility became a tool of silence,” Gazette, Sept. 30]. In reality, civility creates the conditions in which truth can be spoken and heard; it’s a guardrail that keeps political life from sliding into chaos and violence.
There are rare cases where an issue is morally clear-cut, no reasonable disagreement is possible, and civility is beside the point. But most of the time democratic life demands humility. First, we need to recognize that we may be wrong. Second, even when we’re right, we have to recognize others will have different interests and priorities. Living in a pluralistic society means we can’t always win. Refusing to accept that leads to violence, not justice.
The mayor and City Council have increased school funding every year of her tenure. One might argue that’s not enough and advocate for more. Instead, the mayor’s critics portray her budgetary choices as so obviously bad that only villains could disagree. On social media, they compare her to the Nazis, and Guerin’s letter invokes some of history’s worst atrocities. That’s not truth-telling; it’s careless rhetoric that lacks any sense of proportion. Children are not well served by leaders who can’t tell the difference between dedicated public servants and history’s worst criminals.
Civility doesn’t mean comfort at all costs. It means creating circumstances in which differences can be aired and resolved without tearing our community apart.
Jeffrey Q. Sternal
Northampton