Civility

Six people are dead, 13 others wounded, and a bright, energetic congresswoman from Arizona remains hospitalized with a head wound she suffered in a senseless attack. Daily reports suggest that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., is making amazing progress for someone who had a bullet travel the length of her brain. Charged with the killings and maimings in the Jan. 8 shooting at that Tucson shopping center is a man who appears to be mentally unstable. Based on what we've read and what's been reported, 22-year-old Jared Loughner did not open fire because he was a die-hard follower of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin or the Tea Party.

Need a little help on spreading some civility? Want to show your civil spirit? The  Choose Civility Washington County Advisory Board Tuesday unveiled some help in the form of a “tool kit.” The board was formed to promote consideration, empathy and tolerance in the face of growing incivility nationwide. The effort, which grew out of discussions for an anti-bullying effort in public schools, strives to enhance the quality of life locally through polite behavior. Organizers and supporters of the group gathered Tuesday afternoon at the  Washington County Arts Council on West Washington Street in Hagerstown to hear about several initiatives.

Drive for civility The man in the red Subaru is furious because the guy in the black Honda has just cut him off. In a cloud of anger, he speeds up to return the favor. But suppose the Honda driver's maneuver was accidental, a blind-spot slip-up. Can the damage be undone? An apology might help - but how do you do it? Psychologists Arnold P. Nerenberg and R. Jerry Adams, national experts in aggressive driving issues, suggest "Sorry" signs. Write "Sorry" in thick, bold, black letters on a white background.

As Maryland tries to combat bullying in schools, a Washington County group will look broadly at civility. The school system is forming a Cross-Functional Team to Promote Civil Behavior. Its first meeting will be April 17 at the Washington County Board of Education central office auditorium. Washington County Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan said the schools and the community should work together to promote good behavior. The new group will examine the school system's current policy on bullying, harassment and intimidation.

Did Hagerstown Councilwoman Penny Nigh shove Ed Lough or just brush up against him on her way out of the council chamber? Accounts of what happened differ - Lough said he would have been arrested for doing the same thing to Nigh - but there's another, more important point to be made here. Lough is one of the leaders of a coalition supporting the Washington County Hospital's move to Robinwood - an idea some councilmembers strongly oppose. Some members of the business community strongly opposed locating the University Systems of Maryland campus downtown, but they made their arguments in a dignified way that did not prevent them for working with UMS once the decision was made.

The right of every individual to be treated with politeness and respect is closest to the best definition of civility I know. Yet current human dialogue seems distant from this important virtue. Violations in human discourse and resultant behavior are more the norm than the exception now, or so it seems. Are we too casual, preferring to let our feelings, emotions and opinions become the foundation of all truth? Are we more desirous of who is right than what is right? Is civility that important to us right now?

Editor's note: The Herald-Mail invites readers to answer poll questions on www.herald-mail.com. Readers also may submit comments when voting. A sampling of edited reader comments will run on The Herald-Mail's Opinion page on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The question posted Monday on The Herald-Mail's Web site was: Is civility a thing of the past? o "I wouldn't say it's too far from gone. How often have you seen rudeness at the store, on the road, in your neighborhood, among co-workers?

Timing must not be a strong suit of Kevin Anderson or Oliver Luck. The Maryland and West Virginia athletic directors decided Monday would be a great day to make pleas for civility from their respective football fans. The problem? The bitter rivals play each other Saturday at Maryland's Byrd Stadium. Probably the wrong time to make those pleas. There's about as much chance for civility in College Park this weekend as a smooth drive to the game on the beltway. The requests from Anderson and Luck - both in the form of letters to fans - come in the wake of incidents that occurred at the teams' season-opening games two weekends ago, both of which were televised nationally.

All that “choose civility” idealism we’ve been hearing so much about lately appears to have been lost on some of our best and brightest. A case in point was this recent report from Annapolis: “Sen. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, accused the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees of being ‘duplicitous’ and not clearly explaining a mandatory fee contained in a tentative state contract agreement. Shank said the ‘service fee’ AFSCME will receive from state employees — even those who don’t belong to the union — is buried in ‘double speak’ in a list of the contract’s highlights.

Civility would become the boomer generation To the editor: Charley Reese's column got me thinking about what exactly the baby boomer generation has done to contribute to society. I empathize with Reese's struggle to find much in the way of tangible evidence beyond the coming fiscal doom he highlights in his column. Here are a few more notable contributions. The one that is most evident is the general screechy tone of public discourse. Of course, political debate has been lively throughout the nation's history, and the boomers certainly didn't invent dirty politics.

The family of a Berkeley County man whose remains were found at a shale pit in November 2012 after he threatened to commit suicide several months earlier has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the West Virginia State Police. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Berkeley County Circuit Court on behalf of Walter N. Hughes' widow, Victoria Hughes, and their three daughters, Kristal M. Hughes, Kristina Arntz and Kristie Canfield, according to court records. In addition to the wrongful death claim, the lawsuit claims that state police and the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are liable for mishandling the man's remains after they were found at the shale pit. West Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. Michael Baylous said Friday he had not been made aware of the claims contained in the lawsuit and declined to comment.

The nation's largest Civil War battlefield preservation group has been awarded $90,000 to help save a site near Williamsport that saw action as Confederate troops retreated from the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, officials said. The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority awarded the money to the Civil War Trust, one of 58 grants totaling $2.7 million that went to Maryland nonprofit organizations. Of that amount, $360,415 went to local heritage tourism sites, activities and organizations in Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties.  The authority gives grants to expand tourism-related job creation in the state, according to Tom Riford, president and chief executive officer of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

As Civil War re-enactors portraying Confederate soldiers were leaving a mock battlefield at Renfrew Park on Sunday afternoon, Zachary “Zach” Gagliardi stopped one to ask questions about the flag used in the generic battle re-enactment. The 12-year-old said he has learned quite a bit about the Civil War by visiting the Waynesboro encampment for several years. He can tell you about various models of bayonets and the way rifles took over for muskets in fighting. “Every year we learn something new,” said his mother, Tina Gagliardi.

A documentary film with local ties brought home a prestigious Emmy Award earlier this summer. The film, “Maryland's Heart of the Civil War,” earned its Emmy recognition from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at a ceremony in mid-June in Baltimore. The historical documentary explores the Civil War's impact on the landscape and personal lives of Marylanders in the area that is being called the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area - which includes Washington, Frederick, and Carroll counties - by combining scenic shots and re-enactments with compelling commentaries from respected historians.

Civil War event takes place Sunday Expect to hear cannon fire in Hancock on Sunday afternoon. Don't be alarmed, though. It will be part of a special program at the summer meeting of the Hancock Historical Society, to be held in the Joseph Hancock Park on West Main Street.  The guest speaker for the occasion will be Hancock Mayor Daniel Murphy, who  is also president of the historical society. His topic will be “Cannons and Horses: The Nightmare That Was Civil War Artillery,” and, just for fun, his presentation will include live cannon fire.

Rectifying what one organizer called a “historical oversight,” a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial to honor African-American veterans of Lyon Post No. 31 of the Grand Army of the Republic was held Tuesday at Hagerstown's Rose Hill Cemetery. The Grand Army of the Republic was a veterans organization for those who battled for the Union during the Civil War. “Hagerstown had two posts of this organization [the Grand Army of the Republic] ... Because Maryland was mostly segregated at the time we had two posts - one for white veterans and one for black veterans,” said local historian Stephen Bockmiller, who also works for Hagerstown city government as a zoning administrator and a development review planner.

A scheduled demonstration on Civil War medicine did not occur as planned at Saturday's Retreat Through Williamsport, but a number of people recognized an expert in the crowd. George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., was at the event as a visitor on Saturday, but still found himself being pulled aside by other visitors to answer a few questions. “There are a few misconceptions about Civil War medicine, things like biting a bullet because they didn't have anesthetics,” Wunderlich said.

Name: C.W. Whitehair  Age: 64 City in which you reside: Charles Town, W.Va. Day job: Author Book title : “Mosby: The War Years” Genre: U.S. History Synopsis of book: No single Confederate officer was feared more in Northern Virginia and the lower Shenandoah Valley by the Federal army than Col. John S. Mosby, commanding officer of the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry. His method of warfare was unconventional, which earned him a reputation as a mastermind in psychological and guerrilla warfare.

While Gettysburg, Pa., attracted thousands of tourists during the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg last week, Chambersburg has several Civil War-related activities, too. Ted Alexander, chief historian at Antietam National Battlefield, will present a free program at the Chambersburg Heritage Center, 100 Lincoln Way East, at 1 and 3 p.m. July 20, which is Celebrate! The Arts at Old Market Day - the largest event of ChambersFest. Alexander will speak on the topic, “As They Saw the Rebels: Civilian Observations of the Antietam and Gettysburg Campaigns.” The Heritage Center also will show the film, “The Burning of Chambersburg” throughout the day between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. July 20. The 29-minute film was created by WITF in 1989 for the 125th anniversary of the burning of the town.

By Rebecca Massie Lane Special to The Herald-Mail    On June 16, 2012, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts opened “Valley of the Shadow,” a landmark exhibition of authentic art and artifacts of regional, national, and international importance to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.  Focused on objects telling stories of the Maryland Campaign, particularly Antietam and concluding with the...