Campaigns today could indeed use more civility
Astory in The Oklahoman this week about Edmond fifth-graders urging presidential candidates to raise their level of discourse prompted a letter to the editor (unsigned) accusing the reporter of “stooping so low as to recruit kids to take down Donald Trump.”
Yet Trump, the Republican front-runner, wasn’t mentioned in the article, even one time. Sadly, the candidate has indeed become that synonymous with the boorish behavior among grown-ups that these young people are trying to temper.
Trump is known for following his own counsel most of the time (and, it should be noted, this has served him well, in business and now in politics), so he wouldn’t be likely to pay much heed to what a group of grade-schoolers has to say about comportment. Yet he and the other remaining candidates for president could stand to lend their ear.
Reporter Darla Slipke wrote Monday about a project in Linda Skinner’s enrichment classes at Heritage Elementary School, in which fifth-graders first discussed some of their concerns regarding the election, then wrote letters to the editor and letters to candidates.
In a letter to the editor, one student wrote that the presidential debates “are not very productive. They used to be about issues, but now they’re about how people look, act, or the way they speak. Sadly, candidates are calling people names and being rude to one another.”
Apparently, these students have watched, read or been told about the behavior during some of the Republican debates, when several candidates took turns calling each other liars. With the GOP field whittled to three, Trump now aims most of his attacks at his closest challenger, Sen. Ted Cruz, whom he simply calls “Lyin’ Ted.”
The same student wrote that she and her classmates have tired of the over-the-top rhetoric so frequently on display.
Instead, they “want to spread the word to all the candidates. We need someone who will inspire, encourage, and serve our country. We need someone to soar.”
Service was one of the themes of another Heritage Elementary fifth-grader.
“This nation isn’t a free country because of disagreements and quarreling; we are united by teamwork,” she wrote in a letter to the editor. “It is important to all citizens that we have a leader who understands how to give up time and energy to help America.”
One student was particularly blunt in his letter to the candidates. “First, when you are arguing, you look crazy,” he wrote. “It’s okay to be competitive, but it’s not okay to be rude.”
Perhaps the best zinger was offered by a boy in his letter to the presidential candidates. “It’s interesting that 11-year-old kids think adult behavior could be better,” he wrote. “If we said the things you say to the fellow students we would look immature and embarrass ourselves.”
Politics is a contact sport, of course, and that’s particularly true at the national level. Some of what we’ve witnessed thus far is likely to pale in comparison to what transpires this fall during the general election campaign.
Although these students’ wishes may be fanciful, their concerns are on point. This country would be well served by a little more civility, starting at the top.