Wednesday event is a step toward increasing understanding.


We can disagree. We can even disagree intensely, about matters that are incredibly consequential, emotionally charged, life and death. We can do all that and still have empathy for the people whose views don't align with ours. We might not change our minds, but at least we won't be tearing our communities apart.

The first step toward that sort of empathy is civility, and that's something that can be in short supply in political debates. In a bipartisan effort, local leaders of both parties are working with the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service on bridging the gap between differing opinions. It's called the Marshfield Civility Project, and the first in a series of forums kicks off tonight. The event, titled "Political Fix: How do we get American Politics back on Track?" is open to anyone, and we hope it will be well attended.

It will be from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Helen Connor Laird Theater at the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County.

It's not a lecture; it's a deliberation. You will have a chance to talk with your neighbors, share your views and have your input included in the conclusions reached by the group. It's an important first step toward having a more productive, less poisonous political debate.

This is not only about manners. Studies by political scientists have found evidence to suggest that the wall-to-wall nasty political messages we're exposed to cause us to have less trust in government overall. Another study found that the public sees uncivil political attacks as unfair, less informative and less important than positive messages.

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Column: Disagreeing without driving people apart

The great fear is that the perception of political debate as a nasty, brutish, mean-spirited practice will lead to less civic participation overall. Why get involved in bettering your community if it will only mean bitter attacks?

In Wisconsin, without question, the low point in recent history was the period from 2011 through 2012, when the bitter fights about passage of Gov. Scott Walker's Act 10 and the uprising against it that led to the recall election divided communities, coworkers, families, friends. This year's gubernatorial election does not seem to have the same heat, but it's in all of our recent memories. Wisconsin was not a pleasant place to be, not for almost anyone, in that period.

Passion is good; debate is good. We host passionatetod arguments and pointed statements in our opinion section every day, and that is a vital part of politics. But we can have those arguments without denying, implicitly or explicitly, the humanity of someone who doesn't feel the same as us.

That's civility. We welcome the efforts of the Marshfield Civility Project, and hope it receives robust community support.

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