Civility: starting at the beginning

We seem awash in political and moral polarization in the world today.

Elected officials, sports figures and coaches, actors and other high-profile public figures are caught lying, cheating, becoming entangled in webs of betrayal, malfeasance and sexual scandals of every sort, or simply being rude in a continuous cycle.

The new norm is pundits talking over one another, even yelling to get their points across. Cyber bullying has become commonplace. World leaders use words like “stupid,” and “loser” to describe opponents.

Listening and giving someone with a different viewpoint a chance to speak a...