With the national spotlight turned to civility, some folks in Maryland might be letting loose a few fist pumps — albeit very polite ones.
For the Johns Hopkins University professor who literally wrote the book on the subject and the Howard County group that has brought the message to car bumpers across the region, it has been both heartening and refreshing to hear the golden rule invoked by the president of the United States and on the lips of so many members of Congress.
"Never in the history of this county has there been so much discourse on civility," said Professor P.M. Forni, the author of "Choosing Civility." "We cannot have a civil society without goodness."
Absent the sharp rhetoric and partisan bickering that has dominated the political discourse of late, President Barack Obama and other elected officials have adopted a more subdued tone — for now, at least.
Though it was an apparently demented young man, and not anyone's words, that killed six and wounded 20 in the shooting attack Saturday on Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, political leaders have seized the opportunity to address the vitriol — and, in most cases, vow to help change it.
"It's got to stop. This nonstop negativity is really hurting our country," Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger said. "People need to be more tolerant of someone else's point of view."
The Baltimore County Democrat and other members of the state's congressional delegation said the shooting rampage — which occurred at the kind of hometown event they all conduct during recesses — has shaken Capitol Hill, and will affect the tenor of the discourse there.
"I would expect this incident will sort of be standing there, hovering over us as a caution," Rep. John Sarbanes said.
But new Rep. Andy Harris, sworn in last week, offers a different view: He doesn't think the political climate is overheated or needs to be dialed down.
"I don't detect problems with civility that would rise to the level where you have to quell it," the Baltimore County Republican said. Compared to legislative bodies in other countries, Harris said, the disputes in Congress are relatively tame.
"My mother came from the Ukraine, and a fistfight broke out in Parliament there recently, and people were hurt," he said. "We should always choose our words carefully, but I don't think the discourse has been uncivil. In some ways, we should celebrate people being passionate about political issues."
Forni, who published his book on civility in 2002, said it has been "an ongoing battle" not only to get people talking about how they treat one another — but to actually change it.
"Discourse," said the man who has led countess civility seminars, "very often doesn't translate into action."
That said, he's quite sure change is possible.
"Am I confident things can get better? Yes, I am," he said. "Because events like [the Arizona shooting] are now etched in the American consciousness and because people want change."
To do it, Forni says, politicians have to figure out how to disagree forcefully, spiritedly and passionately — but politely.
Though he fears some of the country's more bilious officials might be too far gone to suddenly sweeten, he has hope for the next generation — if the leaders of today teach the leaders of tomorrow the ABCs of respect.
"We train our children in everything from ice skating and ballet to soccer and voice, but we still do not train them regularly on civility," he said. "We praise their self-expression to the point where self-restraint becomes almost a dirty word."
Obama shares Forni's optimism.
"I believe that we can be better," the president said Wednesday at the memorial service for the victims of the shooting. "We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us."
Sarbanes, a Baltimore County Democrat, found it compelling that Obama focused much of his speech on the 9-year-old victim of the attacks.
Christina Taylor Green, who went to Giffords' event because she had just been elected to her school's student council and was growing interested in government, represents a "wonderful lack of cynicism" about politics that adults could learn from, Sarbanes said.
"It's easy to be cynical, right? And cynicism doesn't really help anything," he said.
It's difficult to motor along Interstate 95 in Central Maryland without seeing the green bumper stickers brightly imploring drivers to "Choose Civility."
The Howard County Library, inspired by Forni, has been handing them out for years now, hoping folks that spot them will ease up on the gas, remember their turn signals and maybe even allow a car to merge every once in a while.
The movement, started in 2006, has expanded countywide, its good-natured message spreading to banners over school football fields and posters in county offices. They've gone through 60,000 bumper stickers — and Valerie J. Gross, who leads both the library and the county's civility initiative, has just ordered thousands more.
She says the stickers, banners and all the rest have people talking about the issue.
"We here in Howard County appreciate the reminder," she says. "When I have a car magnet on my car, I am a more considerate driver. That could be my mother in front of me driving so slowly."
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin says Maryland has long had a more civil political climate than other states — in part, he said, because statewide elections in this Democratic stronghold are rarely closely contested.
"We have a tradition of moderation as far as the debate is concerned," said Cardin, who served 20 years in the House of Delegates before his election to Congress in 1986. "We have a tradition of respect for all views in Maryland — even in the heat of the health care debate, and they were pretty unruly at times."
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, a Democrat, spoke of Maryland's "tradition of cooperation."
"It's not just an overwhelming majority beating a minority into submission," he said. "It's about including the minority in every structure of the legislature — committee, subcommittee, work groups. We've always done that. "
Still, he said, Arizona "gives us all an opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities we have, the words we choose, the way we conduct ourselves and how we treat our neighbors."
Republican Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell, the House minority leader, agreed that the Annapolis tone is "respectful." But from his side of the aisle, he says, it's not exactly the kumbaya picture Brown paints.
"That's not to say we're one big happy family here — far from it," O'Donnell said. "I think from what I've seen so far, like during the swearing-in ceremony, there's collegiality and goodwill from both sides."
Sun Reporter Julie Bykowicz contributed to this report.