Civility costs little but Incivility Will Cost Us Our Country

NYT Reader Comment to January 26, 2012 article "With Audiences Encouraged to React, Primary Debates Seem More Made for TV 

  Like it or not, it is not 'Morning in 1984 America.' Like it or not, America has been making money 'on the float' since the early 1970's when we went off of the 'Gold Standard.'
   Culturally we live in a 'Jerry Springer' mentality, media and ratings driven, instant gratification, either/or, got-'cha, Red Carpet seeking, short-term solution, 'Kartrashian,' non-tolerant, uncivil, mean girl, populist society.
    All 24 hour news outlets push their own fortune telling, fear mongering agendas with loud background bells and 'whooshing' sounds, so we will raise our heads for their ratings.
   All the 'Talking Heads' interrupt their guests, and the loudest person in the room is perceived to be the smartest person in the room.
   NBC purposefully censured their audience last week to make the Republican debate as boring as possible. Inversely, producers should not dishonestly pump up and prime their audiences, but again, it is no longer 'Morning in America.'
   Populist perception and polls are instantly perceived to be everything, and yet, amount to a vapid nothing.
   America is the 1% of the world, with our massive earning potential and great wealth as compared to how 75% of the rest of the world lives on less than $2 per day.
   How many of us cook dinner for a needy neighbor once a week, tithe our Church, and give locally to local charities? Why are we so lazy that we think any federal entity will solve all of our 310M problems? Civility costs little to learn but incivility will cost us our country.