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Where is Statesmanship today? Classic examples from the past include- Thomas
Jefferson’s admiration and respect for John Adams; Ronald Reagan’s congeniality
with Tip O’Niell. The recent loss of the
Honorable Supreme Court Justice Scalia adds to this historical list. His
friendship with Honorable Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg might be the final
blow to the lost virtue of statesmanship in America. What was the mystical ingredient for these
esteemed historical relationships? – Friendship and Civility.
Aristotle described Friendship as the highest virtue – even
above justice. Psychologists include the
following traits in describing a good friendship– congeniality, caring and
respect. It is respect, moral good and
how we view others that develops our own virtue and character. How did Honorable Justice Scalia see himself
through the friendship eyes of Justice Ginsburg? "What only her colleagues know
is that her suggestions improve the opinions the rest of us write, and that she
is a source of collegiality and good judgment in all our work." And how
did Justice Ginsburg reflect her view of Justice Scalia? “It was my great good
fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend.” Both of
these Justices deserve the title Honorable.
Today’s Statesmanship is a sad state of affairs when I read
editorial after editorial by guest columnists who use vitriolic demagoguery to describe their opponents political views. The use of “Shock Jock” journalism to persuade
or defend ones views is the new form of “intelligent” and acceptable political
discussion. Add to this style, the ability to distort or change facts under the
guise of opinions – A Reader Beware clause – and you get a world of mass
misinformation. The media under the pressure of free internet
publishing and mass technology distribution, cave to the temptation of
publication. After all, these guest
columnists do provide a view of the world and entertainment. So the media hides under the veil of consumer
ratings thereby justifying the editorial value of publishing any opinion.
What suffers? Society
sees this reflection clearly – and the embarrassment of this reflection
diminishes with each generation. Respect
for differences of opinion has been lost inside the media and technology veil
of face to face intimacy - Tweet anything, Facebook bully pulpit, editorial
comments of hate. Even television has
become a debate of rude interruptions, shouting matches and finger pointing. The
root of Civility is the word civis – or citizen. As Civility declines so do
American citizens.
Where is Statesmanship today? Where is it acceptable to
denigrate, ridicule, and exaggerate (to the point of dishonesty) others point
of views? Statesmanship suffers as
friendship declines. I am glad that our Supreme Court Justices have (and had) the
highest virtue – Friendship. Maybe the
next selection of Justice Scalia’s replacement should be based on the highest
virtues of Friendship and Civility.
