Paul Ryan Quotes

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.

Public discussion demands at least the profession of good faith.

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

I've slipped on occasion into the realm of irresponsible invective, but I try to avoid it and generally recant when I fall short. Because name-calling does nothing to improve understanding or move the political debate forward.

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 can argue and we can disagree, but we don’t need to poke our fingers in each other’s eyes in order to get our points across.

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

I enjoy the debate... I haven't met a single person in Congress yet that I dislike. It's not about moderating your views: it's about being able to talk about them and defending them in a way that's uplifting to people.

I think it's interesting to me to talk to people who don't agree with me all the time.

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.

When you hear someone criticize a policy on the other side, that's fine. But when you start hearing motive-mongering and demonization, stand up to it just as you would if it were something that was racist or sexist. If we avoid the demonization, disagreements can be positive.

Years ago on my radio show, I used to say, 'I'm a conservative, but I'm not in a bad mood about it.' I've always believed that civility in heavy doses is essential in self-government.

The world I want to live in is a world where everybody is a bit more uncertain about their arguments and is a bit more open to other people's arguments. I think that we can engage ideas without ad hominem attacks.

The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.

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

I think that you can disagree with people and debate over their positions with issues without engaging in the politics of personal destruction.

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

It does not good to shout anyone down….There will be no shouting.

I don’t expect anyone to just sit there and agree with me, that’s not their job.

When I am contradicted it arouses my attention, not my wrath. I move toward the man who contradicts me: he is instructing me. The cause of truth ought to be common to both of us.

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.

I think it's important to have conversation about things instead of shutting things down.

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.

Yeah, you can disagree with someone and still be cool - that's a thing!

I invite a variety people on my show with wide-ranging opinions - sometimes even my jaw hits the floor, too - but I let them speak. Whether it's left, right, or center, I want to expose my viewers to other perspectives. Agree with them or not, the nation needs to listen.