Unity vs. Civility

Unity

1. The state or quality of being one or united into a whole.
2. The state or quality of being in accord; harmony.

Civility

1. Courteous behavior; politeness.
2. A courteous act or utterance.

If you follow politics in the last year or so, there have been calls for unity. Of course, unity in politics isn’t actually possible. If it was politics would disappear as there would be no debate at all about how things should be, we’d all be in agreement and simply behave appropriately.

Civility on the other hand is how we deal with others and engage with ideas that don’t fit our worldview.

Nearly everywhere you find people passionate about how things should be, such as at work, in your town, how to run a charity, how to organize an event, there will never be perfect unity, however, there can always be civility. Without civility, things breakdown. It’s the lubrication that keeps a complex machine of interpersonal interactions running.

Civility is something you should always strive for in your interactions.