'Civility Project' Launched by Evangelical and Jew

Here's a noble effort--it will be interesting to see if it gains any traction. This is an excerpt from a ChristianPost article. To read the entire article click here. It is also instructive to read the Civility website by clicking here.

New Effort Launched to Promote Civility in America

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter

An effort to promote a more civil society amid increasingly uncivil clashes has been launched by the head of a prominent faith-based PR firm.

The Civility Project, launched on the eve of the inauguration of President Barack Obama, is a call to people from all races, walks of life, and religious and political persuasions to civility, explained DeMoss Group founder Mark DeMoss in a joint column with Washington lawyer Lanny Davis.

“In addition to our desire to promote a more civil society, we also share disgust for the incivility we see every day in this country, on the radio and TV, and around the world,” the two stated.

DeMoss, an evangelical conservative, and Davis, a Jewish liberal, developed the idea behind The Civility Project during a meeting in Washington six months after Sen. Hillary Clinton ended her campaign for the presidency.

“As dissimilar as our religious and political beliefs and opinions are, we found ourselves drawn to each other's love for this country,” recalled the two, “and a conviction about the importance to its future of trying to change the polarizing, attack-oriented political culture that has become all too common in recent years and, instead, to bring civility back as the staple of American politics and life.”

As an example, DeMoss and Davis referred to the uncivil events that erupted amid and after the campaigns for and against California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

After California voters passed the measure, effectively banning gay marriage, demonstrators targeted faiths that supported the ban, particularly Mormons, leading protests that were sometimes angry and even violent. Churches were spray painted, cars were vandalized, and at least two Christians were assaulted. Protesters even hurled racial epithets at African-Americans because African-Americans voted overwhelmingly in favor of Prop. 8.

“[W]e both condemn the vandalism by some who opposed the proposition directed at those such as Mormon Church members who supported the measure,” DeMoss and Davis stated despite their different stances on Prop. 8.