What Happens Next?

3.11.23
What Happens Next?
Are We Getting More Rude? | 92

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Lockdown helped stop the spread of COVID-19, but it didn’t do our social skills any favours. Have we forgotten how to get along?

Civility goes beyond simple politeness – it’s a crucial virtue that binds people together. It’s also essential for maintaining democracy.

This week, host Dr Susan Carland is joined by world-leading journalists, commentators and academics for an investigation of civility.

Are we getting more rude? Monash University’s Dr Steven Zech talks about the concerning trend of increasing incivility among certain groups, especially politicians.

Dr Amanda Stephens, of Monash’s Accident Research Centre, discusses road rage and the “de-identifying bubbles” of our cars.

As our society becomes more individualised, finding shared values and a mutual understanding of the common good becomes a critical challenge. Without them, says education expert Professor Lucas Walsh, a breakdown of civility in public discourse is inevitable.

Engaging civilly means inviting responses and acknowledging humanity. Dr Waleed Aly and Scott Stephens, co-hosts of The Minefield, consider the issue of contempt, highlighting how it can erode the foundation of a democratic society.

A full transcript of this episode is available on Monash Lens.

Learn more:

• Anger and aggressive driving all the rage on our roads
• The Oscars slap raises important moral question about civility and incivility
• Scanlon report: Taking Australia's temperature on migration attitudes

“What Happens Next?” will be back next week with part two of this series and our final episode of the season: ‘Can We Learn to Be More Civil?’.

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