Witnessing the costs of incivility

The departure of a local volunteer board member this week (see her letter on this page) underscores for us an emerging trend that is the direct result of the onslaught of social media’s encouragement of extremes online that affect our real world for the worse.

Social media’s expert finesse at manipulating humans’ innate physiological reactions to emotional stimuli was a subject of one part of the meeting of the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors Monday exploring ways to control student cell phone usage.

Social media sites like posts of extreme behavior, which get its users to keep using it. Their algorithms promote videos of people taking big risks and have encouraged shocking commentary for years. The practice has presented an ethic commonly adopted by many as a normal way to behave. Video it and post it online, no matter what.

That’s going to cost us. Across the country, our system has depended on volunteers giving their precious hours for the good of their communities. But many increasingly grow tired of public abuse, doxing, threats and other tactics used to intimidate them or shame them undeservedly.

Secretaries of state across the nation worry because the whole election process depends heavily on such volunteers, who are becoming scarcer.

If we can’t get people to fill what used to be low-profile positions, how can we expect enough interest in public service to attract reputable, solid candidates for higher or even middle offices?

Instead, we may be changing the candidate pool to those incented to seek office for ill purposes not suited to the preservation of democracy.

In our own small community, at least, we have just lost one school board member five months into her term who was having a positive effect, offering good observations, and was willing to spend time to learn the ropes to become even more effective. We are worse off because of that.

The remaining school directors may keep in mind that policies like those they are considering may have a further reach than just one community’s children today.

Scott Hunter

editor and publisher