Thread by @davidplazas

As an aside, @Tennessean held its first #CivilityTennessee event at Vandy in January 2018. I moderated a conversation with @jimbrownjwb who wrote "Ending our Uncivil Wars."
tennessean.com/story/opinion/… \

https://twitter.com/davidplazas/status/1349067572654825477

The Civility Tennessee campaign just started its fourth year. It has not been easy nor without criticism. It can be discouraging to witness events like the Jan. 6 insurrection or to get an email like this. \

I responded with President Lincoln's words from his 1861 Inauguration:
"“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection ... \

"... The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” \

The challenge is trying to achieve some sense of unity or civility without addressing issues like justice and accountability. Is it possible? Decorum (i.e., a senator's floor speech) is not necessarily the practice of civility. It can be far from it. \

In 2020, @TEDxNashville gave me the opportunity to deliver a #TEDx talk on the issue of public disagreement. I think it's even more valuable for 2021 and beyond.