Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
On a recent trip to California to escape the heat and enjoy the coast, my wife and I were waiting at a local fish restaurant to have an early dinner with family. We were sitting quietly at the empty bar, waiting for our party to arrive, when another patron entered and sat right next to us. She asked where we came from and, when we told her, she called Las Vegas a s---hole.
I was taken aback at the crudeness of this woman. I told her the Las Vegas metro area is enjoyed by nearly 2 million people and that her insulting comment was unnecessary. She repeated herself.
At this point, we moved to our table to await our family. It occurred to me later that the level of noise, discord, violence and downright meanness in our society has reached new heights. Social discourse with manners, respect, polite exchanges and kindness — which were once the norm — have been replaced by vulgarity. This has been enabled, shaped and sharpened through virulent, sometimes anonymous social media commentary.
What was once socially taboo to say in public is now posted freely in social media. Furthermore, the line that once stood between speech and posting has merged. It is as if because you can tweet anything, you can now say anything. This phenomenon is common in our highest political office.
The best angels of our country’s nature appear to be losing, and it’s a shame.
