...Truly Slide.

One thing I've heard about this political season is the concept of decorum and civility in public discourse. Today's disagreements and discussion is back-handed and vitriolic, whereas a hundred years ago if you were to call someone a liar you either had to do it to there face or in the local newspaper/town crier. While gossip has persisted throughout all time; modern day dissertation is either poorly thought out, poorly articulated, poorly executed or a combination of the three.

Being a romantic I will refer to the ancient Greeks often and usually in a positive light.

The ancient Greeks loved and encouraged the open exchange of ideas. In fact they paid and revered men and sometimes women to sit in their respective pajamas and postulate the different meanings of "is". For most of recorded history there was a very high concept of "honor" and "giving your word" which seemed to carry it's weight in gold. If you had no honor or word then you were basically a nobody. In fact having proper, civil discourse was so important that the other guy would offer to kill the slanderer face to face.

In 2008 hyperbole, libel, obloquy and other scurrilous screeds are common place and expected. The World Wide Web harbors hundreds of thousands of "flames" "owns" and "pwns" that don't merit explanation or recognition. Stalwart media outlets puke opinion after opinion as if: A. they matter and B. they are unbiased. Celebrities engorge themselves with empty facts and then defecate their speech onto the public via Us Weekly et al.

We all know that if Michael Moore had to actually fight George W. Bush with a sword or gun then Fahrenheit 9/11 would never have been made. If John Stewart was in a bar with Karl Rove and started to talk crap about Rove, would he continue to talk crap if Rove challenged him to a duel? If Ann Coulter was face to face with Al Sharpton would either have the gumption to speak if they knew that they had to back up their words with Rapiers?

For all the slavery and environmental destruction and waste of human lives and religious intolerance that marked most of history (most of which pales in comparison to modern times) there is still something to be said of "honor" and giving someone your word. I don't want to see another Presidential debate until I see it followed up with a Presidential duel of sabers.

~

Improve your life with the SomethingAwful.com Comedy Goldmine(NSFK). Improve your life further still by reading some classical poetry. Bring your life to the apex of existence by eating Ruffles Potato Chips and Lays French Onion Dip.