The crew gathered for the first time in over a month in the Tap Room Annex this past Tuesday for the return of Tap Room Tuesday. This little gathering was once called Doubt on Tap, but over the last ten years or so it has become something more than that. It’s become a community.

So, Tuesday nights we gather around the table and discuss things that matter.

The Recap

This past week we spent our time discussing the question of civility in public discourse. To begin our evening we needed to wrestle with the definition of “public discourse.” To this end, we determined that there were some different kinds of public discourse. Perhaps we could think about it in three buckets. The first bucket, discussing issues with friends. This could be the proverbial water cooler, bonfire, or conversations on the bar stool. The second bucket, is social media. Whether we like it or hate it social media is public discourse and Facebook and X are the primary public squares of our day. Finally, there is the public discourse that occurs when public figures speak.

With those three buckets identified, our conversation turned to discussion about what has caused the loss of civility in these three buckets. We identified a few root causes to this loss of civility. The rise of the 24/7 news cycle was cited as something that has changed the nature of discourse by public figures. The reasoning was that with a 24/7 news cycle public figures are competing for attention constantly. This constant competition demands that public figures speak in ever increasing shocking ways to rise above the noise and grab headlines. This was contrasted to an age gone by where due to the limited nature of news, key ideas were more important than simple bombast.

Also, the rise of social media was pointed to as a cause for the loss of civility. It was argued that social media isolates people into silos and also allows people to disassociate their words from the ramifications of those words. It was also pointed out that this also incentivises public figures to try and grab attention in any way possible.

There was also some conversation about the shift in the way people respond to having their ideas challenged. Over the last 15 to 20 years it seems as though a challenge to an idea is a challenge to identity. As a result, engaging over public issues becomes harder and harder to do. This is because people feel that when someone disagrees with them they somehow despise them.

This lead to the conclusion of our evening, “Can civility be recaptured in public discourse?” The crew was split. Some said, absolutely not. Because the conditions that have destroyed civility will simply continue to grow. Some argued that at some point there will be a tipping point where the public will demand it.

The Reflection

As I have reflected on our conversation last night it struck me that there was an undercurrent of cynicism around the table. It seemed that each of us in our own subtle ways were jaded by what we have experienced and seen in the public discourse over the last number of years.

I believe it was Yuval Levin that has said that cynicism is impossible to maintain. I agree. Eventually, our cynicism toward public discourse will either be broken or we will simply give in to incivility.

My hope is that we will break from our cynicism. In so doing that we will capture again an ethic of loving our neighbor and loving our enemy (who happens to be our neighbor) as ourselves. Civil discourse begins on patios and porches, in coffee shops and pubs. I am convinced that local and national leaders reflect the people whom they represent. We can, if we choose, raise the bar.

As I reflect on my own heart, I want to move beyond social media screes and have meaningful conversations with neighbors and friends and family. I want to dig deep into why people think what they think and why I do as well. Perhaps, if enough of us take the step to move back into real life, we can eventually see public discourse return to a place of civility and respect.

Invitation

If this sounds like a conversation you’d like to have been part of, please join us Tuesday nights at 8 pm in the Tap Room Annex in Ypsilanti, MI.