Table of Contents
Introduction 7
1 Many Aspects of Society Are Less Civil Paul Thoms 13
2 Bleep! The Decline of Civility Kathleen Parker 25
3 Society Seems to Be Crossing a Line of Civility Rich Heldenfels 29
4 Incivility Does Not Reflect a Breakdown in Democratic Society Tod Lindberg 36
5 Liberals and Civility Thomas Frank 51
6 Incivility Has Lasting Psychological Consequences Rebecca A. Clay 55
7 Online Anonymity Increases Incivility Richard Bird 62
8 Partisan Politics Promotes Incivility Michael Wolf 67
9 Uncivil Political Bullies Threaten the Democratic Process Michael Winship 74
10 Imitation of Media Images Leads to Incivility Joseph Cramer 79
11 Media Can Build Civility Sarah van Gelder Brooke Jarvis 82
12 Persuasion as the Cure for Incivility John I. Jenkins 87
13 College Classrooms Can Be More Civil P.M. Forni 91
14 Banning Online Comments Is Not the Answer to Online Incivility Maria Konnikova 101
15 Media, Not Courts, Should Determine Anonymous Online Comment Policies Kathy English 107
Organizations to Contact 111
Bibliography 116
Index 121