October 17, 2012 Redux in 2016
Oct. 17 ~ Civility can be contagious… spread the goodness! #civility
You will be changing the world around you tokay just by being present with others, so let your impact be to expand the greater grace and goodness made possible by civility! Let this seed of change for the better begin with you, and begin with me! We can change the course of human dialogue and discussion by simply being anchors of civil discourse for the people around us.
Did you have a favorite candidate in the Presidential Election? It’s totally cool if you do, most will have a favorite. Now, try to stop and think of the other candidate in the best possible terms. You don’t have to agree with what he or she says and does, but stop using a negative lens to see and hear everything about him.
Can you do it? If you can, then I bet you can also resist posting smarmy, insulting and uncivil remarks about him on Facebook today! See the best in everyone around you and they just might begin begin living up to some of those expectations!
toddthomas.net 
October 17, 2012 at 1:19 pm
One of my favorite FB posts lately was someone who said, “Let’s post only nice things about both candidates for one post!” There were some of the coolest things as replies! I was impressed that folks played along:
“I like the fact that Romney earned a very tough dual degree in Law and Business at Harvard — just 15 in his class earned it — while graduating with honors in law school and in the top 5% of his class in the business school.”
“I like that all four major candidates are amazing and wonderful daddies!”
“I like that Obama learned his politics from the doorsteps of Chicago row houses, getting petitions signed for better garbage pickup. I like that Romney and his wife raised five sons (so did my brother and his wife). I like that Biden overcame the tragedy of the violent death of his wife and daughter. I like that Ryan still lives in the neighborhood where he grew up, with aunts and uncles all around.”
“I like that Mitt Romney has been very generous with his church. I like that Paul Ryan has been willing to put forward some tangible ideas for the future. I like that Joe Biden has raised a son that is serving his country on the front lines. I like that Barack Obama takes very seriously Christ’s emphasis on how we treat the least of these.”
It’s so cool — you can’t even be sure which way these folks lean unless you know them. May they be an example for us all!
October 17, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Very nice!
October 22, 2012 at 2:54 am
Great to see you energies for spreading civility.
I’m a firm believer in the “social contagiousness” of it. I see the effects in action in my efforts, which echo yours. And, have written a fair amount on the evidence I’ve seen and the themes of dignified discourse, at: http://dynamicshift.org.
Let’s keep this chorus singing to drown out all the negative and unproductive rhetoric.
Best,
Andrea Morisette Grazzini
Founder, DynamicShift