--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hold to the idea that civility…" description: "\"I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the willingness to engage in public discourse, is the first virtue of citizens.\" — Mark Kingwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/mark-kingwell-25050_citizens_i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-underst_1875309.png" --- # I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the… ![“I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the willingness to engage in public discourse, is the first virtue of citizens.” quote by Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/mark-kingwell-25050_citizens_i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-underst_1875309.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/mark-kingwell-25050_citizens_i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-underst_1875309.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/mark-kingwell-25050_citizens_i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-underst_1875309.png) > “I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the willingness to engage in public discourse, is the first virtue of citizens.” [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civility is the willingness to engage respectfully in public dialogue, forming the foundation of good citizenship. **In simple terms:** Respectful dialogue is essential for citizens. Key Takeaway Practice respectful listening and speaking. Themes civility citizenship public discourse virtue Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - community meetings - online forums - political debates - neighborhood discussions Key Concepts democratic engagement social contract ethical communication Questions to Reflect On - How can you foster civility when opinions clash? - What barriers prevent respectful dialogue? A Different Perspective Civility alone cannot resolve deep ideological divides. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civility/) [Discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discourse/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Public discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-discourse/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) ## Related quotes > [It is the peculiar boast of our country, that her happiness is alone dependent on the collective wisdom and virtue of her citizens, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/it-is-the-peculiar-boast-of-our-country-that-her-happiness-is-alone/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy, and you've got an audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/discourse-on-virtue-and-they-pass-by-in-droves-whistle-and-dance-the/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [“Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance and shimmy, and you've got an audience!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-laertius/discourse-on-virtue-and-they-pass-by-in-droves-whistle-and-dance-and/) [Diogenes Laërtius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-laertius/) > [“Does a just society seek to promote the virtue of its citizens? 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Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [Public discourse has been polluted now for decades by corporate-funded disinformation - not just with climate change but with a host of health, environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-mann/public-discourse-has-been-polluted-now-for-decades-by-corporate/) [Michael E. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-e-mann/) > [Trigger warnings are an instantiation of the West's zeitgeist of perpetual offense and victimhood that defines much of public discourse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-saad/trigger-warnings-are-an-instantiation-of-the-west-s-zeitgeist-of/) [Gad Saad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-saad/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) ## More by Mark Kingwell > [Socrates was likewise right that pissing people off is how we first, and maybe best, go about the business of provoking thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/socrates-was-likewise-right-that-pissing-people-off-is-how-we-first/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [How doe we create the world we want, rather than a world that just happens to us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/how-doe-we-create-the-world-we-want-rather-than-a-world-that-just/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [For every apparent gain, in short, we now observe a balancing danger. This is the world we have created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/for-every-apparent-gain-in-short-we-now-observe-a-balancing-danger/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Paradoxically, the problems of politics often arise not in the form of a problem of scarcity, but as one of abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/paradoxically-the-problems-of-politics-often-arise-not-in-the-form-of/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [If anyone is tweeting right now, I'm not pulling a knife on David Cronenberg!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/if-anyone-is-tweeting-right-now-i-m-not-pulling-a-knife-on-david/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Our desires are never wholly transparent, even to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/our-desires-are-never-wholly-transparent-even-to-ourselves/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Ambition is ever tempered by experience. Otherwise, fortune makes fools of us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/ambition-is-ever-tempered-by-experience-otherwise-fortune-makes-fools/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Tyranny is abhorrent, freedom benefits all, whereas violence benefits no one for long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/tyranny-is-abhorrent-freedom-benefits-all-whereas-violence-benefits/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Friendship requires a leap, not of faith but of regard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/friendship-requires-a-leap-not-of-faith-but-of-regard/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Books, like lives, are always unfinished even when they end, for to write is to struggle with contingency, to impose a certain false order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/books-like-lives-are-always-unfinished-even-when-they-end-for-to/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Neiman's book is written with considerable flair, as many critics have already noted, but it possesses a far rarer and more valuable quality: moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/neiman-s-book-is-written-with-considerable-flair-as-many-critics-have/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [If you have ever been accused of being rude when you were merely stating the truth, or called a gossip because you like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/if-you-have-ever-been-accused-of-being-rude-when-you-were-merely/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [Politics is rather the creation of the best possible polity out of the deep inner needs of its citizenry - who are only some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/politics-is-rather-the-creation-of-the-best-possible-polity-out-of/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [We don't know what the future will bring, but that's because we are ever in the process of creating it, not because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/we-don-t-know-what-the-future-will-bring-but-that-s-because-we-are/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) > [We are capitalism made flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/we-are-capitalism-made-flesh/) [Mark Kingwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) [Explore all 23 Mark Kingwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/) ## More Citizens quotes > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-edwards/i-will-be-a-model-prisoner-as-i-have-been-a-model-citizen/) [Edwin Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-edwards/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [“The police ultimately pay the price for poor customer service when citizens become fearful of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-police-ultimately-pay-the-price-for-poor-customer-service-when/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Worship isn't destructive, Martin. I know that. I don't. I only know it's the core of his life. What else has he got? He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/worship-isn-t-destructive-martin-i-know-that-i-don-t-i-only-know-it-s/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/no-greater-victory-can-be-won-by-citizens-or-soldiers-than-to/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [A free society depends upon a high degree of mutual trust. The public will not give that trust to officials who are not seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-cox/a-free-society-depends-upon-a-high-degree-of-mutual-trust-the-public/) [Archibald Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-cox/) > [My dreams were always small and puny. All I ever needed was a little house with a little picket fence by the sea. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-marcos/my-dreams-were-always-small-and-puny-all-i-ever-needed-was-a-little/) [Imelda Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-marcos/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [Without the ability to talk about government power, there's no way for citizens to make sure this power isn't being misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-swartz/without-the-ability-to-talk-about-government-power-there-s-no-way-for/) [Aaron Swartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-swartz/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What I will stand up for is what I think is right and for the best interests of the citizens of the state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-judge/what-i-will-stand-up-for-is-what-i-think-is-right-and-for-the-best/) [Patty Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-judge/) Browse all 4,189 Citizens quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the willingness to engage in public discourse, is the first virtue of citizens.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Kingwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-understood-as-the-willingness-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Citizens" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-understood-as-the-willingness-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/mark-kingwell-25050_citizens_i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-underst_1875309.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/mark-kingwell-25050_citizens_i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-underst_1875309.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/mark-kingwell-25050_citizens_i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-underst_1875309.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I hold to the idea that civility, understood as the willingness to engage in public discourse, is the first…” — Mark Kingwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Kingwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kingwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I hold to the idea that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-understood-as-the-willingness-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kingwell/i-hold-to-the-idea-that-civility-understood-as-the-willingness-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```