Nicholas Goldberg: Is civility really passé in American politics?

I wrote a column recently in defense of civility in politics. I didn't argue that you have to be best friends with the people you disagree with, just that you shouldn't go on Facebook to gloat and crow over the deaths of anti-vaxxers who succumbed to COVID. It seemed pretty obvious to me that saying "screw you" to the dead and their families wouldn't help get anyone vaccinated or lower the level of vitriol in the country.

But, boy, the blowback was strong. People seemed to think I