Civil Debate

America is on a dark path.

But it isn’t because of the reasons the candidates would have you believe. Instead, we are on a dark path because of the campaigns themselves.

This is without a doubt the most uncivil election in decades. The constant vitriol and caustic rhetoric this campaign has wreaked havoc on America’s political landscape. Campaigns are focusing more on personal attacks instead of policy proposals. Half-truths are pawned off as fact, and attack ads are ruling the airwaves. It is no surprise that most Americans feel this election is the most uncivil in recent memory. Two out of every three voters agrees that the 2016 election is less civil than others. 74 percent agree that civility has decreased over the last few years — in all aspects of life: online, in politics, and in our personal lives.

This is untenable.

The United States of America is a complicated place, and has been since its founding. The countless ideas held by our citizens — about the role of government, about the right to vote, about foreign policy and about the economy — have all been settled through civil debate. Our country — the oldest democracy in the world — would never have lasted so long if political opponents were treated as enemies to be destroyed instead of opponents in a civil debate.

Today, we are seeing a trend towards the uncivil that we haven’t seen for decades, perhaps even a century. Friendships are ending over political spats, neighbors are feuding with neighbors, and network television is host to shrill arguments instead of calm discourse. The few times America truly lost its sense of civility and respect have all ended in tragedy. We cannot let that happen again.

The upcoming presidential debates represent our last best hope for a reset to civility.

The first “debate,” the Commander in Chief Forum moderated by Matt Lauer, was not that reset. It only served to further ingrain the incivility of the election. We deserved better.

That’s why the National Institute for Civil Discourse today is calling on the presidential debate moderators to adopt a set of Debate Standards that will ensure the debates are fair, informative, and civil. We’re proud to be joined by more than 60 organizations that support the standards, each of which is saying “enough” to incivility and are asking for more from our moderators, the audience, and the candidates themselves.

THE DEBATE STANDARDS:

I want debaters to:

1. Be respectful of others in speech and behavior
2. Answer the question being asked by the moderator
3. Make ideas and feelings known without disrespecting others
4. Take responsibility for past and present behavior, speech and actions
5. Stand against incivility when faced with it

I want moderators to:

1. Address uncivil behavior by naming it and moderating the conversation to move toward a more respectful dialogue
2. Enforce debate rules equally
3. Hold candidates accountable by challenging each candidate to speak the truth and act with integrity
4. Treat all candidates equally in regards to the complexity of questions and debate rules
5. Be respectful when interacting with candidates

I want audience members to:

1. Be respectful of other audience members, the candidates and moderators in speech and behavior
2. Refrain from creating disturbances that impact other audience members, candidates and moderators
3. Take responsibility for personal behavior, speech and actions
4. Speak against incivility by reminding candidates it is not acceptable
5. Practice active listening when someone else is speaking, seeking to understand them

THE CO-SIGNING ORGANIZATIONS:

1. AARP
2. All Sides
3. American Public Square
4. Bridge Alliance
5. Bring it to the Table
6. Charter for Compassion International
7. City Club of Cleveland
8. City Club of Portland
9. Civil Debate Page
10. Civil Politics
11. CiviliNation
12. Civility Center
13. Community Civility Counts
14. Compassionate Saint Augustine
15. Congressional Management Foundation
16. Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
17. Council on American-Islamic Relations
18. Deliberative Democracy Consortium
19. Door County Civility Project
20. Drake University’s The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center
21. Esperanza
22. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
23. Everyday Democracy
24. Faith and Politics Institute
25. Faith in Public Life
26. Harvard Graduate School of Education’s The Good Project
27. Institute for Excellence and Ethics
28. Institute for Social Policy and Understanding
29. Interfaith Alliance
30. Jefferson Center
31. Josephson Institute of Ethics
32. Kansas State University Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy
33. Living Room Conversations
34. Millennial Action Project
35. National Civic League
36. National Coalition for Deliberation and Dialogue
37. National Issues Forums
38. Nebraskans for Civic Reform
39. North American Strategist
40. Ohio Peace Collaborative
41. Pepperdine University’s Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership
42. Professional Speechwriters Association
43. Public Agenda
44. Purple America
45. Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute
46. Scarborough Kindness Project
47. Seattle City Club
48. Show Some Respect
49. Take Back Our Republic
50. The Village Square
51. Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service
52. University of California Berkeley Center on Civility & Democratic Engagement
53. University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement
54. University of San Diego’s Institute of Civil Civic Engagement
55. University of Virginia Center for Politics
56. University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
    Values-in-Action Foundation
57. Values-in-Action Foundation
58. West Virginia Center for Civic Life
59. William S Cohen Institute of Leadership & Public Service
60. Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, University of Arkansas System
61. Women’s City Club of New York

I hope you will join with us and #ReviveCivility.

The candidates are asking for our votes to become the next leader of the United States. We should ask something in return: their civility.