Anti-Climacus

One of my friends put this up on Google Reader, and I thought it was worth a comment. What bothers me most about the whole "booing at a gay soldier" thing is not the policy attitude that's being expressed. Quite apart from what I think about the topic, some people might think that Don't Ask Don't Tell is a good policy, and they're more than allowed to argue for it and make their case: that's just democratic politics that contest which notion of the good should be enacted into law.

What bothers me is a trend I've been noticing more in the last year or so, which is bothersome to me: the tendency of conservatives to forget the importance of civility and politeness. Even if everyone on the stage at the Republican debate was in agreement on what the relevant policy should be (and Gary Johnson was there, so there was no unanimity), it's still hideously bad form to boo anyone, for any reason. At a minimum whoever was up there should've thanked the soldier for his service and respectfully disagreed with him on the substantive point. To say nothing is needlessly offensive, at best. The conservatives I know, who believe in things like the importance of manners and etiquette and respect for a human person, know better than to disagree in this way. It's a shame the candidates don't seem to realize that themselves.