Don't hold your breath waiting for the return of civility

One of my elderly relatives supports left-wing Democrats and progressive causes, while another donates to the farthest right sector of the right wing. It wasn't until I started looking at their mail that I realized why those of us calling for manners and civility in politics are doomed to disappointment.

Both sides warn that if they don't get a big influx of cash, the other will prevail in instituting a totalitarian regime. If you're on the left, the bugaboos are fascism, militias and hate groups. On the right, they are socialism, gun control and groups that are not ever quite defined but are "not one of us," as one GOP commercial against the Democrat running for governor intones.

The pitch is pure hyperbole, designed to freak the gullible into writing checks. It may also spur the check-writers to go to the polls, but the main aim is fundraising to pay for more ads, especially on TV in a high-cost state like Florida.

Politics has always used direct mail to raise money. The only thing new is that the vitriol has leaked out into the airwaves and the Internet and that those who are knowingly lying are more brazen, apparently unashamed when caught.

They used to be able to fly under the radar when they relied mostly on direct mail. Nearly 20 years ago I wrote about a fundraising group run out of Washington, D.C. that was bringing in money hand over fist by sending scare letters to retirees, claiming Hillary Clinton was going to take away their Medicare.

Such groups wanted to keep their messages out of the mainstream media for fear of inspiring a fact-check assault and a backlash. The only reason I saw that letter in the early 1990s, when I was medical writer for the St. Petersburg Times, was that the sweet elderly lady who received it was so panicky, thinking it was true, she called me to  sound the alarm. 

Today, you can see the same scare tactics on the Internet and on radio (sometimes even cable TV), and at rallies. They inspire civic activists, supporters of true democracy, to call for more civility. They're right, that's what we need. But we're not going to get it as long as torrents of money can so easily be triggered by scaring people.

--Carol Gentry, Editor, can be reached at 727-410-3266 or by e-mail. We welcome Letters to the Editor!