A 4 page essay that is in reaction to “Just Be Nice,” Stephen L. Carter, which is an essay that calls for a return to civility and argues that the “protection of constructive and polite public discourse is essential to public morality and the common good” (Davis 689). Roger Williams, the seventeenth century Puritan leader who founded the colony of Rhode Island, emphasized the need for civility, as he argued that the “’term’ civility’ stands for basic moral norms that citizens hold in common” and this is a stance in which Carter concurs (Davis 689). Therefore, rude, vulgar speech that accosts one’s fellow citizens for no apparent reason is more than simply bad manners. It is a direct attack on the foundations of society itself. This point is proven by examining the functions that civility serves in society, and also by looking at the innate power of language. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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essential to public morality and the common good" (Davis 689). Roger Williams, the seventeenth century Puritan leader who founded the colony of Rhode Island, emphasized the need for civility, as
he argued that the "term civility stands for basic moral norms that citizens hold in common" and this is a stance in which Carter concurs (Davis 689). Therefore, rude, vulgar
speech that accosts ones fellow citizens for no apparent reason is more than simply bad manners. It is a direct attack on the foundations of society itself. This point is
proven by examining the functions that civility serves in society, and also by looking at the innate power of language. Carter, first of all, addresses civility from an approach
that shows how it constitutes a "commitment to the common good, believing that the heart of civility is the common good over individual prerogative" (Davis 689). In todays culture, it
has become common to talk of "rights," such as the right to wear baggy pants, insulting T-shirts, and behave as it ones desires take precedence over everyone elses as a
matter of principle. As Carter points out, this view of ones "rights" belittles the "bloody struggles for such basic rights as the vote and an unsegregated education" (Carter). Nevertheless,
todays society persists in the misconception that "all desires are rights" in and unto themselves (Carter). Carter, citing James O. Wilson, describes this as the "elevation of self-expression over self-control"
(Carter). People justify their "right" to act in manner that others find offensive and then seem surprised that other people are offended. Young people pierce their faces with "as
many studs and rings" as they wish and then are surprised that this practice, which many people find revolting, hurts their chances of finding a job or remaining on a
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