Civil Discourse Quotes

“It seems that civil discourse today is governed by those who feel but do not think, while at the same time are profusely outraged but outrageously ignorant.”
― Jeffrey Fry

“In order to think through things clearly, we need other opinions and viewpoints in order to navigate into the nuance. We need civil debate to present opposing viewpoints and point out our blind spots. We need the ability to speak freely and civilly to one another.”
― Eric Overby, Legacy

“Our religion was the religion of a Book. Man must be educated on Earth for Heaven. John Quincy Adams”
― Paul C. Nagel, John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life

“They talked about the way society is in fact controlled through the imposition of false needs, and how criticism of society is effectively and systematically suppressed by being infiltrated into institutions. They spoke of a closed technological society which creates a new totalitarianism, and in it there is no place for those outside the process of production. About the fact that the only way out of the comfortable, rationalized, undemocratic freedom offered by developed industrial civilization is through rebellion. About the fact that revolution is possible only through awareness but that awareness in itself demands revolution.”
― Daša Drndić, Belladonna

“Accelerating progress requires building on foundational innovations, or as Bernard of Chartres stated - “standing on the shoulders of giants”. In the fractured society we live in, the lack of civil discourse makes it difficult to find a stable place where “we are carried aloft and elevated by the magnitude of the giants”. - Tom Golway”
― Tom Golway

“Citizenship is not a spectator sport.”
― Steve Miska

“Civil Discourse (The Sonnet)

Be a friend to the just,
But a parent to the unjust.
There is no place for hate,
Restrain the hater, but do not hurt.
The paradigm of revolution needs reform,
We must make it grow out of cruelty,
For cruelty is not the cure for cruelty,
We must treat it with the light of sanity.
It is a sad state of affairs when,
Violence becomes a part of civil discourse.
How can we possibly call ourselves civilized,
If mere disagreement breaks out into violent uproars!
So I repeat, cruelty is not the answer to cruelty.
Work to destroy hate without destroying the human spirit.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Mukemmel Musalman: Kafir Biraz, Peygamber Biraz

“Civil defense must be rooted in dialogue, not death.”
― Abhijit Naskar, The Centurion Sermon: Mental Por El Mundo

“... the key to developing a strong argument is understanding your weak points. In this case, my siblings were right about the logical side of my proposal. There was not much sense to what I'd suggested. So I would appeal to their hearts instead of their heads.”
― bill nye, At the Bottom of the World

“The first tenet of self-reflection through meditation is solitude.”
― Milan Kordestani, I'm Just Saying: A Guide to Maintaining Civil Discourse in an Increasingly Divided World

“I want to see how people can operationalize kindness online. It would be good for people to take that as a value from which to work, before launching into things that are about destruction and about vilification.”
― Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement

“At its heart, civility is the disposition of those who understand that we live together to flourish together—that the wellbeing of our neighbor is bound to our own, and that we have a duty to one another and to the common good.”
― Diane Kalen-Sukra, Save Your City: How Toxic Culture Kills Community & What to Do About It

“The more popular our project became, the more it worried the Kremlin. At first they simply ignored us, but after a while began actively attacking. Pro-Kremlin journalists wrote that we were 'providing a mass platform for the wrong kinds of people' and 'creating the wrong sorts of trends.' Then the regime started overtly hindering our activities and trying in every way possible to discredit them.

The debates were held offline, which made us vulnerable. The regime started putting pressure on the owners of the premises where we held them. There were 'inspections,' visits from the police, threats to cut off their electricity, anything to stop them from allowing us to hire their rooms. The regime began sending gangs of troublemakers regularly. A dozen people would turn up, begin yelling, throw things around, and start a fight, and the venue would turn down our next attempt to book it. The main aim was to marginalize us, to show that ours were 'not political debates at all,' but just a bunch of drunks getting together and starting a fight. See how disgusting they are, there's one with blood running down his face.

I mention the blood because it was my face it was running down.

A group of drunken young guys turned up at one of our debates, shouting insults, chanting 'Sieg Heil,' and snatching the microphone from those who wanted to ask questions. I tried form the stage to calm down the ruckus, but a fight broke out, with one of the invaders attacking me outside. I had a gun with me for self-defense that fired rubber bullets. I first shot in the air and then in the direction of my assailant. This made little impression on him, and he hurled himself at me. We were both taken away by the police but not charged. turns out my attacker was the son of some FSB higher-up and Daddy didn't want a fuss.

I must admit that the Kremlin's tactics worked. We were faced with the purely logistical problem that no club wanted anything more to do with us, and even if they did, we could not guarantee the safety of our audience. The disruptions became predictable and overshadowed the meaningful part of the debates. The project would have to be abandoned.

This taught me a useful lesson, and was a significant moment in my political career. I saw how much could be achieved without money and without the 'protection' of the Kremlin, indeed, in spite of the Kremlin. What I needed was a group of supporters to work with me, and I found that group through the internet.

I have often heard it said that my rapid adoption of the internet provided unique political flair, that I was a visionary prophesying the dawning of a new era. That is very flattering, of course, but far off the mark. I took to the internet because there was no alternative; television and the newspapers were censored, and rallies were banned.”
― Alexei Navalny, Patriot: A Memoir