By Bob Gibson

Now is the time for an injection of a little civility into the body politic.

Many politicians have succumbed to a political swine flu of sorts.

They behave a bit like pigs as they slop through campaigns and sessions of Congress trying to slime opponents with objectionable labels and ill motives.

Americans are free people, a Fluvanna County friend said recently, so that “Babbling idiots have the right to tarnish their public character just as poorly run businesses in a free market should have the right to fail. In this way, hopefully incivility takes care of itself.“

The friend, Stephen Scott, added, “I don’t think we should attempt to codify civility too much lest it become a form of control on free speech.“

As a First Amendment guy, I concur. Let the crude, rude and socially ugly characters lose their own arguments as the public reacts to punish outrageous attacks.

But, public opprobrium for shameful behavior is in short supply. Public disgrace or ill fame does not always follow from grossly wrong or vicious political conduct .

And, the media enjoy the outrageous attacks more than finding the truth or the reproach that can’t quite catch up to shameless political attackers who unfairly question others’ motives.

Incivility makes the news.

Actually, I have been insultingly unfair to pigs in this column.

As friend Andrea Young of McLean observes, “Even my animals show civility toward one another,“ observed Young a river-watcher, beekeeper and owner of a pack of large dogs. “When they don’t, one or the other will ‘alpha up’ and make sure the pack gets back to basic order.“

Young equates civility with respect. “It is that deep, abiding respect that allows me to have a discussion with those I disagree with, weigh the input, question my own motives and observations, and form an opinion grounded in reflection and thoughtfulness.“

“Civility is the lifelong personal challenge to open one’s mind to new ideas, listen with respect,“ she said.

What is civility? It involves respect for others, community service, tact, fairness and decency.

“Civility is complex,“ said P.M. Forni, who teaches Italian literature and civility at Johns Hopkins University. “Civility belongs in the realm of ethics. ... [I]t is not just an attitude of thoughtful relating to other individuals; it also entails an active interest in the well-being of our communities and even a concern for the health of the planet on which we live.“

George Washington cared deeply about civility in public life and his thoughts on the subject are earning a bit of a revival.

A sad irony surrounds the public’s layers of distrust and disgust with much of the political life centered in the nation’s capital bearing his name.

Fixing the nation’s giant civility deficit could take years. Many years of a civility surplus are not yet contemplated, budgeted or even imagined.

The Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership is considering the idea of bringing a national conference on civility in political life to Charlottesville.

Sorensen hopes to play at least a small part in a national revival of understanding and embracing the value of political civility.

Sorensen teaches ethics and civility in four programs each year that educate and train political leaders in communities across Virginia.

Eighteen Sorensen alumni will be sworn in as General Assembly members on Jan. 13, 10 of them Democrats and eight Republicans. They know the positive effects that flow and multiply from civility in public life. I know they try to practice what they preach even when the public half expects politicians to be pigs. Disclaimer: No actual pigs were harmed in the production of this column.