Civility 101: You're invited

Graydon Stanley believes if we’re looking for someone to blame, the mirror might be a good place to start.

“We, all of us, have stood aside and allowed a lack of civility and a general tone of unpleasantness to take root throughout society,” said Stanley, vice president of student services at North Idaho College.

“Now it’s time that we admit it, and find ways to push back — to restore respect and dignity into the way people treat each other.”

To that end, NIC will partner with the Coeur d’Alene Task Force on Human Relations, the school’s own Diversity Council and the Associated Students of North Idaho College (ASNIC), and serve as co-host of a one-day conference this Thursday.

The event, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Schuler Performing Arts Center in Boswell Hall, is titled: “Returning Civility to America’s Democracy: The Promotion of Civil Dialogue.”

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Cornell W. Clayton, director of Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University.

Clayton also is a professor of political science, an author and well-known lecturer on the topic of civility.

The conference will feature a number of political leaders (including public office holders), interfaith religious leaders and representatives of the media — and there will be a special media panel at 2 p.m.

Editor Mike Patrick, City Editor Maureen Dolan and columnist Sholeh Patrick will represent The Coeur d’Alene Press on that panel.

The focus of the conference is to explore ideas and constructive proposals on how society at the local, state and national levels can promote and encourage civil dialogue — focused on reasoned arguments and intelligent debate as a counter to incivility characterized by contentious discourse, negative personal attacks, demonizing opposition and abandonment of respectful communication.

“We have worked to eliminate things like racism and discrimination from our community in the past,” said Tony Stewart, longtime leader of the local task force on human relation, “but this growing lack of civility and respect in our daily communication is another huge challenge.

“People in all walks of life have lost our traditional acceptance of one another’s dignity, and we need to address it now — and address it strongly.

“Society simply cannot stay on the path that we’re seeing on a daily basis.”

Two subjects certain to be raised during the conference are campaigning in the presidential race and the impact of the internet and other media platforms on how people treat each other.

“This has to be a non-partisan effort,” Stewart said. “Believe me, our problems with civility began long before this election cycle, and they will exist afterward.

“Singling out one politician or one group isn’t the point. We have to look at society as a whole.”

The rise of social media, however, clearly will be a target of conference attendees.

“I believe there are so many wonderful things available to us through the internet,” Stewart said, “but it also has had a dramatic negative consequence, because people can use it to insult or demean someone else and remain anonymous at the same time.”

“Most definitely, it’s the lack of accountability that’s frightening,” Stanley said. “Academia must get involved in understanding and coping with social media.

“I think that finding ways to change the tone of our conversations absolutely should be a goal for higher education, so this really is the right time and place to partner with the task force and discuss how we’ve gotten to this level in society — and how we can turn things around.”

Stewart noted three elements in any community are best-placed to promote a change like restoring civility.

“The media, our various religious leaders and politicians with places in government have the strongest and most regular, day-to-day effect on the community,” he said. “Representatives from all those groups will be involved in the conference, and that’s a real, down-to-earth way to start getting respect and civility back into everyone’s daily lives.

“We have a responsibility here, a duty not to turn away and let this situation get worse. It simply has to be addressed, which is why this conference is necessary — but also why it speaks to some optimism that we can find our way out of becoming a negative society.”

There is no charge to attend the conference, and NIC will have food service available all day for people who want to stay on campus throughout the entire program.