These days civil discourse cowers in the corner. Witty banter whimpers behind the door. And the gentle joke? He skedaddled some time ago. It may be that too much familiarity does breed contempt, but our social media version is odd, isn’t it, only a few pixels deep. In my family in deep south Georgia there were multiple generations who were familiar  only with their extended family. Conversation was constrained by the elements and the need to eat and clothe yourself. When they did make an in your face statement, it tended to come from a deeper place. And since they would be forced to live with the person their words touched, I have always suspected they measured their thoughts like a butcher measuring beef before allowing them as words to inhabit the gnat-swarm air.