CNN iReport

I was shocked last night - and we modern Americans are not easily shocked, so this is saying something. In a time of ‘wardrobe malfunctions’ and seemingly constant government scandal the bar has simply been set so low that one has to take care not to trip over it.

In a scene that would likely be more at home in Iraqi or Pakistani Parliament, South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson jarringly disrupted the President’s address by shouting “You Lie!” It was the verbal equivalent of letting fly a pair of size 9 loafers. The outburst was met with looks of surprise, anger and, yes, ‘shock’ by many members of both parties. Following the President’s address, Democrats and - to their credit, several Republicans - called for an apology from Wilson.

I’m left extremely troubled by the wider import of this event. It seems that there are very few lines left to be crossed in American politics. Gone is the time of jocular, almost collegial competition that once existed between the two major political parties. I can wistfully recall the days when House Speaker Thomas ‘Tip’ O'Neill warmly introduced Ronald Reagan to the Congress. These were men of diametrically opposed ideology yet did not dislike nor denigrate one another. Theirs was a tough but never nasty or personal fight.

What we have today is something much more poisonous and rancorous. Ideological barriers and political wagon circling leave precious little room for ‘reaching across the isle.’ Every speech is pored over for ‘gotcha’ ammunition. Nearly every bill is initially rejected out of hand because of its source – only later are justifications found for these objections.

How have we arrived at this place? The Presidency of the United States is not only the highest office in the land; it is the symbol of our national power, dignity and prestige. Wilson’s scurrilous outburst struck me nearly as unseemly as shouting an ugly profanity in a Church or other place of worship.

I trace this rapid decline in civility back to the notorious ‘Neo-Con’ movement of the 90’s. Concocted by Newt Gingrich and others, this new ideological war was in direct response to the tremendous popularity of then President Bill Clinton. It was a strategy born of fear of declining relevance (and therefore power). Few could have imagined the Pandora’s Box of acrimony and divisiveness that would erupt from such humble beginnings. It signaled the start of the most polarizing and nasty period in our Country's political history. Joe Wilson’s inappropriate outburst was merely the latest harvest of a crop of bitter fruits that have grown from those early Neo-Con seeds.

The question that remains is, “Can the garden be weeded and pruned or have these invasive plants taken over for all time?” Until some new change takes place, I am afraid we are destined to remain in this intractable, dysfunctional state.