Why we can’t stop watching the George and Kellyanne Conway show

I know that I now get more pleasure than I should at poking those online with whom I disagree. I know that the decision to tweet something canny but perhaps not so nice has become easier over time. I know I drink up the direct hits people make — often on those who deserve them — with gusto.

Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? What I do know is that it is something we all need to think about much more carefully if we are to recover some degree of comity in our society.

“Folks want to live in the Trump gutter because they think there is no other way,” wrote my frustrated friend to me.

So I ask: Did Ms. Conway deserve the retweet from Mr. Conway or should he have let her have her ugly words and leave it at that?

I have no clear answer, except to say in this very noisy digital landscape we need to find a better way to not get along.