Is there no room for civility in our politics?

David P. Crowell, Henderson

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

I saw a glimpse of American solidarity last week when we all mourned the deaths of 30 brave Americans killed in Afghanistan in an attack on a Chinook helicopter. I saw it again Sunday, as many bystanders rushed to lift a collapsed stage off injured friends, neighbors and complete strangers in Indiana.

Where is the American solidarity in our political processes — local, state and national? Have we allowed our allegiance to political ideals to undermine our desire to work together for the good of our country?

We will continue to spin our wheels politically and economically until we find ways of being more respectful to each other. We must stop blaming individuals for the things that are wrong with our economy and our society.

Let’s commit to the following changes in behavior:

Agree to be more respectful of all those in positions of leadership in our country, leaders who are doing their best to lead us out of the worst recession in several generations. This includes stopping the name-calling that has pervaded our discourse.

Agree to avoid the blame game. No one person, organization or political party is wholly to blame for our current economic conditions. Throwing a lot of blame around will not move us any closer to an economic recovery.

To be sure, there is much more to be done before we can lift the blanket of malaise from our economic and political systems, but agreeing with, and committing to, these two changes in behavior would go a long way toward strengthening the foundation that we need to ramp up American solidarity and to accelerate economic progress.

I’ll sign up. Will you?