Principles of Civil Discourse

civ.il

ADJECTIVE

• courteous and polite

dis.course

NOUN

• written or spoken communication or debate

VERB

• to speak authoritatively about a topic

taken from Oxford Dictionaries  

1. Keep discussions civil. We are friends, colleagues, and family--each of us has a meaningful connection with our friends on social media due to the admiration and respect that we have towards one another. Likewise, each of my friends is skilled, educated, and hard working. Why else would we keep up with one another through social media if we did not appreciate these positive attributes? 

2. Expect differences. It is entirely possible to have different opinions  on issues and still have respectful discussions. Work to come to an understanding of the other’s point of view, not to agreement. This is an invitation for discourse. I am not expecting to change your mind and you should not expect to change mine. But I do expect to understand your point of view better and hope to convey mine more clearly to you. 

3. No ad hominem attacks. Why? Refer to principle 1. 

4. Keep to the topic by not hijacking another’s thread. If you wish to bring up other issues, start another thread. Those who would like to participate can post in such a thread should they wish to.  

5. Facts, not funding. Please don’t start posting that some candidate or group is funded by such and such organization or by this corporation or by those brothers. Such information gets away from the topic and facts presented in the thread and sound conspiratorial. In addition to being a distraction, this line of thought rarely produces a compelling argument. Civil discourse also means respecting the intent of person who first posted a thread. (Refer to principle 4.) Unless someone posts about political funding, striving to point to sources of funding for particular information strays from the original intent of the thread. 

6. Everyone is biased. We all have experiences and world views that paint our view of issues. Therefore everyone has bias. However, being biased does not mean that one cannot present a reasoned and factual argument. Thus, pointing out another participant’s bias in no way refutes or undermines any point that he or she makes.  (This also violates principle number 4.)

7. Respect empathy. Noting that someone is white and male is an observation, not an argument. Profound insights can be offered by others even though they do not fit a particular demographic. Keep discussions limited to the issue in the thread, not to the other participants' gender and/or skin tones.

8. Be concise. (More like a tweet than a novella.) Taking time to distill one's thoughts provides clarity to what was written and is more likely to be read. In addition, such writing respects the time of those participating and makes it easier for the other respondents to know what points to respond to.