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Much national media coverage in recent weeks has focused on the splintering of the Democratic Party in Washington and the challenges Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces in controlling her new younger generation of lawmakers, mostly women and minorities, who have demonstrated they are more eager to lead than be led.
Undoubtedly, Americans (including myself) will find that story angle of great interest.
But I have to ask, what have we come to when we need to pass congressional resolutions insisting that we keep our bigotries to ourselves and, well, be respectful to each other despite our differences? I mean, this is America -- the melting pot, right? After more than 240 years of existence, haven't we learned yet to accept and appreciate one another?
The House last week passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism and bigotry with a 407-23 vote that started after freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar suggested House supporters of Israel have dual allegiances.
The seven-page resolution approved Thursday criticizes anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against minorities "as hateful expressions of intolerance." Omar, a Somali-American, and fellow Muslims Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Andrew Carson of Indiana, issued a statement praising the "historic" vote as the first resolution to condemn "anti-Muslim bigotry," according to reports by The Associated Press.
The document details a history of recent attacks not only against Jews in the United States but also Muslims, as it condemns all such discrimination as contradictory to "the values and aspirations" of the people of the United States. The vote was delayed for a time on Thursday to include mention of Latinos to address concerns of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It was inserted under a section on white supremacists who "weaponize hate for political gain" over a long list of "traditionally persecuted peoples."
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the resolution shouldn't have been adopted. Of course, all bigotry, persecution and discrimination are wrong, whether it's based on race, gender, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, political beliefs or anything else. But we're all adults here. Do we really need a resolution telling us that?
And by no means does this begin and end with freshmen Democrats.
During the resolution's debate, some wondered why what they described as President Donald Trump's "racially charged rhetoric" had led to no similar congressional action.
But why just debate so-called "racially charged" rhetoric? What about President Trump's distasteful attacks on women, particularly those in the media or those who disagree with him or his political agenda? What about his rude comments against political opponents? The disdainful jabs he made against war hero and long-time Arizona Sen. John McCain -- both before and after McCain's death, and so much more.
I'm not sure who taught these people in elected office -- those who we should be able to look to for leadership -- how to speak with such vitriol, but sadly, they seem to think it's acceptable.
I think it's shameful.
Can't we disagree professionally, like adults? Why do we need to attack with disrespect? Even at the Tribune Chronicle our readers' letters policy specifically spells out that we welcome letters to debate an issue, but they "should be respectful and should not attack a person or an organization."
As I review readers' letters each week for publication, I promptly edit out disrespectful comments. I cut unnecessary name-calling and I remove other snide comments that I view as inappropriate.
Likewise, I expect a high level of respectful language, discussion and debate on issues at home among my kids. Shouldn't everyone?
(And in case you're wondering about last week's house vote, all of Ohio's delegation, both Republicans and Democrats, voted yes, including representatives with nearby constituencies, Tim Ryan, D-Howland; David Joyce, R-Bainbridge; and Bill Johnson, R-Marietta. All 23 of the no votes came from Republicans, some of whom said they thought the resolution didn't go far enough.)