James E. Faust Quotes

Maybe Larry Kings cannot thrive or even survive in a world where the norms for discourse are rage, vehemence and character assassination. King wanted to be liked, not feared; admired, not loathed.

Our civilization is becoming less civil. You don’t have the right to demonize somebody just because they disagree with you.

The crucial part of a citizens' culture is learning to correct others without mistreating them or generating aggression. We need to create a society in which civility rules over cynicism and apathy.

You can disagree without being disagreeable. That's always been my mantra.

I'm all for a passionate debate, and sometimes things can be heated, which is fine, up to a point. As long as we remember that we are human beings.

I do think people of good will can have different opinions but still be coming not from a place of malice.

I have and I will always work to promote a civil public discourse.

Civility is not not saying negative or harsh things. It is not the absence of critical analysis. It is the manner in which we are sharing this territorial freedom of political discussion. If our discourse is yelled and screamed and interrupted and patronized, that's uncivil.

True respect means taking other people's beliefs seriously and assuming they are adult and intelligent enough to be able to cope with it if you tell them, clearly and civility, why you think they are totally, utterly and disastrously wrong.

We may disagree on some things, but we can do so without being disagreeable.

I get very very concerned when I hear people start characterizing their opponents as stupid. I still understand that because politics is a little rough and tumble at times, but I don’t buy it and when they start calling each other either crazy or evil. You and I, we don’t compromise with crazy people or evil people. And so, I don’t think that’s helpful. Generally speaking, just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t make them crazy or evil.

My hope is to create spaces where people of all stripes can come together and speak at a lower decibel level. We make more sense that way. We sound more like our real selves that way.

We all lose when bullying and personal attacks become a substitute for genuine conversation and principled disagreement.

Let's cultivate an environment, not just in beauty pageants but in society in general, where we argue like we're right but listen like we're wrong.

We must first listen, then speak - with humility - to genuinely hear the perspectives of those with whom we don't immediately or instinctively agree.

I don't believe that using inflammatory rhetoric on either side of a debate is productive.

It's always very important that you can completely disagree with someone, but it doesn't fundamentally mean that they are bad people.

What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature.

That most dangerous of opponents: the one who took pains to comprehend the position of his adversary.

I enjoy being around people who disagree with me; and I enjoy being in non-political contexts and activities.

You can tell if someone is about social intercourse or just about browbeating somebody with their opinion. It's no fun arguing with a closed-minded person.

If you have learned how to disagree without being disagreeable, then you have discovered the secrete of getting along - whether it be business, family relations, or life itself.

Civility is not about dousing strongly held views. It's about making sure that people are willing to respect other perspectives.

I suspect that no community will become humane and caring by restricting what its members can say.

People seem to think that you should be willing to speak to them whether they're jerks or not.