Her personal path toward civility leads to her flower garden

In these weeks between winter and springtime, I miss my flowers. Without the joy and peace I find in their finger-paint colors and bouquets of petals, I can get too caught up in the daily drama of national politics.

Campaign season is here — and it’s still too early to escape to my garden and plant primroses. I try to keep my own views as private as personal integrity allows, except at home and among simpatico friends. But the daily blast of breaking news alerts and divisive bickering can be overwhelming. Sometimes I have to grip the arms of my desk chair and roll backwards, away from the computer screen.

Ugly, mean-spirited words seem to spew from both sides, those wearing sloganed red ball caps and others with blue donkeys printed on their t-shirts. Fewer people seem to be hanging out in the purple zone, asking cheerfully, “So, how ’bout that new Cougs coach?”

So I’m waving my garden hat with a grateful flourish to the Civility Project, championed by our own Moscow-Pullman Daily News, together with the Lewiston Tribune and Lewis-Clark State College. The project’s goal is to demonstrate and maintain civility in the coverage of local, state and national news coverage.

For me, it hits home at a personal level. Since I was a little girl, I’ve tried to treat others with kindness and respect, no matter how “other” each of us may be. Lately, though, it’s been a challenge to honor that credo when I encounter people whose political viewpoints bang hard against my own.

So I’m trying to ask respectful questions and then to listen more carefully. If I start feeling a burning in my gut, I will say something truthful but peaceable, such as,“I really appreciate the way you’ve explained this to me.” Then, ASAP, I’ll try to change the subject to a less combustible topic: gardens, grandkids, books, sports or, always at the top of my list, Benjamin BadKitten’s latest misdemeanor.

Sometimes I’ll read a vicious Facebook post, usually a regurgitation of somebody else’s words, or a mocking caption on a photo that’s gone viral, and I’ll want to cry — or punch a hole in the screen. People who, in real life, are as mild-mannered as Clark Kent can turn into raging political beasts on Facebook.

No matter how tempted I am, I won’t jump into a political or religious debate. There’s a cold, hard reality about social media: “ ‘Wow, your Facebook post really changed my opinion,’ said no one, ever.”

To tamp down my anger, I look for at least one positive quality in the person whose political views or actions appall me. Sometimes I have to concentrate really hard to find one. But before I start fitting myself with a halo and wings, I’ll note that some sarcastic captions make me laugh out loud. Then I feel guilty.

Civility will bloom in my garden, even during the frenzied season of campaign signs and politics. Purple flowers will share space with the blue and red ones, and I’ll be ready for passersby who stop to share a bit of beauty and peace. But if somebody starts to rant about the virtues of an all white garden, I’ll pause, take a breath, and then say, “Oh, my goodness. I love the way all the colors dance together. And now let me tell you what that BadKitten has been up to lately.”

Sydney Craft Rozen hopes BBK has forgotten all about a letter to the Daily News, published last year: “BadKitten in 2020.” Email her at scraftroze@aol.com