Passion without poise

Dallas Morning News: Too often this summer, we have felt compelled to use this space to decry the lack of civility in our nation’s political debates. Today, though, we highlight two examples far beyond the Beltway of people behaving badly when things didn’t go their way.

Serena Williams disappointed millions of tennis fans over the weekend. Not only did she end her semifinals defeat at the U.S. Open with a profanity-laced tirade against an official, she seemed to later excuse her behavior in a prepared statement.

We’ve seen tennis stars unravel before when arguing calls, but it is inexcusable to send a message to young fans that “passion” justifies a boorish reaction to a result you don’t support.

Kanye West

Which brings us to Kanye West. The stunt-prone hip-hop star did not like that his pal Beyonce lost to Taylor Swift, a 19-year-old country singer, in an MTV Video Music Awards category. So he took the microphone from Swift in the middle of her speech and said his piece.

Had he displayed an ounce of class and kept quiet, he would have felt vindicated later when Beyonce’s video was given the top honor of the night.

Society loves people with passion. People who throw off the muzzle and tell it like it is. But passion can also be used as a flimsy excuse for shameless self-entitlement.