For some older readers

[veronica_rich]

At the age of 38, I've only witnessed a certain amount of things in history, of course. So I'm curious about something, from people my age or older, who can speak best to this: Do you think the political rhetoric/discussion/debate in the U.S. today is more ... incindiery, or charged, uncivilized (use your own word to basically mean "less diplomatic/calm") than it has been for decades?

I'm just curious, not only in the wake of Arizona last weekend, but as something I've wondered for the past several years. Some of the remarks and rhetoric and arguments and words I hear now as a matter of course are the kinds of things that back in the 1980s, I only truly remember from shows like "D.C. Follies" or "Spitting Image" - parodies of politics, exaggerated for comedy.

Comments

[hippediva.livejournal.com]

In actions, nothing has really changed much. It's more transparent now, but we have increased social media exposure, too. In words, it's quite clear that everyone in the country needs a good verbal thrashing by Emily Post. I was there in the 60's, btw. Sure there were slogans and such but those were NOT being voiced by anyone with pretensions to political power, much less a member of Congress. If any representative or senator had dared to disrupt a presidential address with 'You lie' he would have been firmly frogmarched out by the Secret service. It simply would not have occurred to public figures to be so completely lacking in basic manners. I can recall a whole lot of US smugness over our legislative process vs. that of the English Parliament and most of us kids (we were kids at the time) were struck by how rowdy the House of Commons can get when we got to see a bit of it on tv. *shakes head*

So essentially politics have not really changed but manners sure as hell have. Our Founding Fathers, hell, our grandparents would consider 2011's political 'speech' worthy of a trip to the woodshed with Dad's belt, to be honest.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I remember a time when I thought diplomats were wimpy and old-fashioned - or at least people who argued diplomatically. But after the past couple of decades? Boy, I miss those manners.