Op/Ed: Without civility, our system doesn't work

When he was just a young teenage schoolboy, George Washington sat down and copied out 110 "Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior." Many of these had to do with simple manners. "Cleanse not your teeth with the tablecloth, napkin, fork or knife," reads Rule 100. Good advice at any time.

But the first rule the future president wrote down and followed for the rest of his life was especially notable: "Ev...