Leadership Quote by Christine Gregoire

Civility is doing double duty here: it’s a moral appeal and a political technology. Gregoire’s line turns disagreement into something almost hygienic - conflict is inevitable, but it can be managed if everyone follows basic social rules. The phrasing is deliberately soft-edged: “may disagree” minimizes the stakes, while the wordplay of “disagree” versus “disagreeable” makes the ask feel like common sense rather than discipline. It’s a clever move for a politician because it frames tone as the real problem, not power, policy, or material consequences.

The subtext is a boundary-setting maneuver. By defining acceptable dissent as non-disruptive dissent, the quote implicitly delegitimizes forms of political pressure that are loud, messy, or emotionally charged. Anger becomes a style flaw, not a signal that someone’s interests are being ignored. In practice, “be civil” can function as a request for mutual respect - or as a polite way to keep challengers on the back foot, especially in rooms where the speaker already has institutional authority.

Context matters: Gregoire governed in an era when “bipartisanship” and “civility” were often invoked as antidotes to polarization, particularly in state-level politics where governance depends on coalition-building and routine negotiation. The line offers a comforting fantasy of rational public life, one where good faith is the default. Its real strength is rhetorical: it reassures moderates and exhausted voters that politics can be normal again, and it places the burden of that normalcy on behavior rather than on resolving the underlying causes of conflict.