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PROVO — When it comes to the state of contemporary civil discourse, one mayor believes it’s on the decline — and that the nation’s presidential candidates are to blame.
Provo Mayor John Curtis published an “open letter” on his website on Saturday calling on citizens and elected officials to support “a more civil discussion” on issues like health care, immigration and national security.
In an interview on Tuesday, Curtis said he penned the letter after he sensed "a difference in neighborhood meetings and grocery store conversations and emails."
"We've slipped down a notch," said Curtis. "And I kind of attribute it to what's happening on a national level."
Curtis, who has served as mayor of Provo since 2010, is touching on something that political scientists and linguists have also been observing, said Kevin Coe, a University of Utah associate professor who studies political discourse in presidential campaigns.
"I think the reason we have public figures and others calling out for greater civility in the campaign is that this campaign truly has been less civil, more heated, (and) nastier than what we’ve experienced at least in modern political history," Coe said.
The starkest departure from previous presidential campaigns? Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's overt use of name-calling as a rhetorical tool, he said.
In contrast, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has run a largely traditional campaign, consistent with her image as an establishment candidate, he said.
And although she has also stepped out at times — most notably with her June 9 tweet to @realDonaldTrump to "delete your account" that was retweeted more than 482,000 times — Coe said the former secretary of state has stayed within the norms of political discourse.
Trump’s willingness to overstep those boundaries has been refreshing to some, according to Coe — and a turnoff to others.
Most of all, it's been unprecedented, he said.
“It’s pretty uncommon in presidential campaigns for the candidates themselves to call the other candidate a liar,” Coe said, citing monikers like “Crooked Hillary” and “Lyin’ Ted” popularized by Trump. “And yet what you have with Donald Trump is he does that by habit.”
Curtis, who received dozens of responses to his letter on his website and Facebook page, did not mention any candidates by name in his letter.
He wrote that "it’s as if the two candidates from the major political parties have issued us all a license to be rude without the thought of consequence."
“Like a sewer leak deep beneath the surface, I feel a coarseness invading so many aspects of our lives,” he wrote. “Even in our safe haven of Provo – a place known around the world for its kindness and concern of others.”
Brian Jackson, a Brigham Young University associate professor who studies rhetorical theory, said political mud-slinging isn’t new.
What's unique, he said, is Trump's rhetorical strategy of projecting “utter confidence without any of the details."
“He’ll say, ‘I alone can do this,’” Jackson said. “He’ll say, ‘I’m going to make this happen, no one else is going to make this happen, I know more than the generals.’ … He is asking us to accept his credibility and his confidence as the moral authority.”
Jackson believes growing partisanship and anti-government sentiment starting in the late 1970s presents a challenge for civic discourse.
Psychology has taught us that “if you don’t know the people that are your adversaries, you’re going to treat them poorly,” Jackson said.
The best example may be social media, where people shielded by anonymity and emboldened by their Facebook news feeds — often curated to show users with similar political views — spew vitriol at one another.
“I think of liberals who want to change gun culture in the U.S. and yet none of their friends own guns, they don't know anybody that has a gun, they haven't held a gun,” Jackson said.
"If we really wanted to change our political discourse, it would have to begin at the small levels — at school board, PTA meetings, town hall meetings, neighborhood gatherings, where we learn to look at each other in the face and to respect each other as friends and neighbors in a common enterprise,” he said.
That's something Curtis said he can support.
In his letter, he called on citizens and residents to elevate the level of discourse if national leaders won't.
"I think the solution for Utah, for Provo, is just going back to who we are," he said. “We’re not like this. We’re great people, we’re very kind people. We can work out any problem if we just come together with our differences in a civil way.”
Here is the full text of the mayor's letter:
Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. Did your mother teach you this also? Did you grow up believing in this motto like it was an all-powerful shield against bullies and trolls? All my life I walked around with at least some sense of confidence that words couldn’t hurt me. I’m rubber, you’re glue Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you. For the seven years I’ve been mayor I have certainly had my fair share of complaints. I’ve read some heated emails. I’ve been called a plethora of names (believe me, I understand that comes with the job) but for most of the time I have been blessed to be the recipient of kindness and goodwill. Even in the face of strong disagreement we have come together with civility to work out our differences. But recently I have noticed that the tide seems to be turning in public dialogue. Like a sewer leak deep beneath the surface, I feel a coarseness invading so many aspects of our lives. Even in our safe haven of Provo – a place known around the world for its kindness and concern of others. For example, recently I received an email message from a citizen that ended with this line: “please … let [this] be the issue that sinks the mayor and his … awful arrogant deputy. Oh please oh please let them both be stripped of their clothing and carried out of the building …” Similar to this email, in the last month I’ve heard accusations and disparaging comments of a very different nature than previous public dialogue. Engagement on all platforms—from social media to civic meetings are more sarcastic, biting, impatient, rude, aggressive and often all too personal. In the years of being mayor, I can strongly say this surge of negativity is not normal for our community. So what’s going on? I believe a majority of this comes from top down. Much of it has to do with the trickle-down effect of the conversation happening on the national stage. As we listen to those who have platforms as presidential candidates, we hear them use words that tend to be more cutting, more personal, more filled with spite. The disparaging remarks in our own community are echoes of what we hear every single time we turn on the news, read the paper, or scroll through our Twitter timelines. It’s almost always there when we engage in a presidential discussion. Name-calling, bigotry, hate, attacks. The leaders on our national stage insist on using more and more syllables to pollute the air with words that incite, provoke and demean. Not only do we need to worry about Supreme Court nominations, the economy and war, we now need to worry about the impact of negativity. From what I’m seeing in the community it’s as if the two candidates from the major political parties have issued us all a license to be rude without the thought of consequence. I’m personally calling on our national leaders to understand how their contaminated actions and words seep into our local constituencies and how much we suffer because of it. I’m calling for a more civil discussion on issues like health care, immigration, national security, and jobs. We need them to take responsibility for changing the public discourse not only nationally but everywhere—in our states, cities, and homes. I also call upon my fellow local elected leaders and residents to be that voice of civility. As a county, state, and community, we need more unity and less divide. If we can’t expect decency from the top – let’s start it from the bottom. Despite what our well-intentioned mothers taught us, words do hurt. They hurt all of us. Although I’ve experienced years of decent discourse I worry those days are over. We have a lot to lose in this election, let’s not lose our hearts as well. John Curtis – Provo City Mayor
Contributing: Marc Giauque
