Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Americans have been as frustrated as ever over our political condition. The frustration is now boiling over. A congressional candidate in Montana body-slammed a reporter after he was annoyed with a question. Now, there's a way to deal with frustrations from reporters, but body slamming isn't one of them. It's simply wrong. This should be obvious but if we hope to pass down a civil and just society to our children, then we must model respect and self-control and insist that our leaders do the same. Political civility is much needed today. And regular people like you and me play a role in restoring it. This means we not only model it, but we also muster the courage to step in when things become uncivil. And based on what I see, there are lot of opportunities to say something positive.