Articles in the media and numerous surveys point to widespread distress at the apparent breakdown of civility in our society. We are surrounded by attack politics, abusive language in music and movies, road rage, fights on talk shows, school shootings, and rudeness in ordinary encounters, such as not allowing people to exit an elevator before stepping in ourselves, or ignoring others already in line rather than waiting in line. In another example, eighty-nine percent of public school teachers report that they regularly face abusive language from students. "Civility," says Dr. Stephen Carter, "is a moral issue that deals with how we view and relate to each other and will determine the future of our democratic society." Carter will visit Michigan Tech to deliver the keynote address for the 1999-2000 Human Relations series. Titled "Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy," the lecture is scheduled for Thursday, March 23 at 8:00 p.m. in Fisher Hall 135 on the Michigan Tech campus. Admission is free, and the event is open to all.
Analyzing the state of morals in America, Carter, who is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University, where he has taught since 1982, believes that civility is disintegrating because we are consumed with self indulgence and have forgotten the obligations we owe each other. He believes that civility is more than a useful politeness that smoothes over the small frictions of everyday life. He proposes that society adopt a moral code, and he has drawn up fifteen "Rules of Civility." They include much that appears to be simple common sense-for example, that "our duty to be civil toward others does not depend on whether we like them or not." There are also rules that require more thought, for example: "Civility requires resistance to the dominance of social life by the values of the marketplace. [Its] principles should apply in the market and in politics as in every other human activity." He asks, "What image of civility do our children see in everyday life?" and cites the "unhealthy values" of much TV programming "reinforced by what they see by travels on the internet, reinforced by what they see in politics." "The family" he says, "must be the focal point for moral education."
Carter has been selected by Time magazine as one of the fifty leaders of the next century, and the New York Times has referred to him as one of the nation's leading public intellectuals. Well respected as a serious scholar and a public speaker, his lecture style is informal and conversational while his ideas remain challenging, thought provoking, and controversial.
Carter's latest book, Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy, was preceded in publication by several others-Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby, The Confirmation Mess: Cleaning Up the Federal Appointments Process, and the widely acclaimed The Culture of Disbelief. In addition he writes frequently for law reviews and numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New Republic, and the New Yorker. He is also a frequent guest on such television shows as Charlie Rose, News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and Face the Nation.
Dr. Carter's visit to Michigan Tech is made possible by funding from the President's Commissions for Woman and for Diversity with assistance from the University Cultural Enrichment Department. For further information call 487-2844.