Dan Crenshaw Isn't Buying Into 'Outrage Culture,' Urges Nation To Rediscover Civility

Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) called for a restoration of civility in an editorial in The Washington Post on Tuesday, just days after he appeared on Saturday Night Live to make peace with the shows Pete Davidson .

Crenshaw expanded on his decision to appear on the programs Weekend Update segment with Davison after the comedian had mocked his appearance a week earlier and said that Crenshaw simply lost his eye in war or whatever. The lawmaker wrote in the Post that he decided to go on the show to bury the hatchet but hadnt publicly demanded an apology because he had no desire to fan the flames of outrage common in todays politics.

On Saturday, Pete Davidson and SNL made amends. I had some fun. Everyone generally agreed that a veterans wounds arent fair game for comedy, Crenshaw wrote in the piece. Maybe now we should all try to work toward restoring civility to public debate.

Davidson drew fierce condemnation after he mocked the eye-patch Crenshaw wears, comparing him to a hitman in a porno movie. The politician is a former Navy SEAL who lost his eye in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan.

The comedian invited Crenshaw on SNL last Saturday to apologize for the joke, and the two agreed to move forward after exchanging some good-natured quips.

If any good came of this, maybe it was that for one day the left and the right finally came together to agree on something: That Im a dick, Davidson said. I mean this from the bottom of my heart: It was a poor choice of words. The man is a war hero, and he deserves all of the respect in the world.

Crenshaw told NBC earlier this week he was glad he went on the program and that it felt like the right thing to do, and that he would appreciate if everybody would stop looking for reasons to be offended, and thats what this was all about.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

It felt like the right thing to do. I would appreciate it if everybody would stop looking for reasons to be offended and thats what this was all about.-Dan Crenshaw on his surprise SNL appearance pic.twitter.com/7WygTrYYCg

TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 12, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"TODAY","author_url":"https://twitter.com/TODAYshow","cache_age":86400,"description":"It felt like the right thing to do. I would appreciate it if everybody would stop looking for reasons to be offended and thats what this was all about.-Dan Crenshaw on his surprise SNL appearance pic.twitter.com/7WygTrYYCg TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 12, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":675,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Drzb1xNWwAEOix3.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"TODAY on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1061965336298381312","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5bebacc8e4b0caeec2bf37ea","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/dan-crenshaw-washington-post-editorial-snl_n_5bebacc8e4b0caeec2bf37ea","entryTagsList":"pete-davidson,op-ed,civility,dan-crenshaw,@health_adhd,@health_depression,@health_erectile,@health_gad,@health_hiv,@health_ibs,@health_models,@health_pain","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"entertainment,media,us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":7},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5bebacc8e4b0caeec2bf37ea","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"pete davidson","slug":"pete-davidson","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/pete-davidson","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/pete-davidson","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/pete-davidson"},"department":{"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"section":{"title":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"topic":{"title":"Pete Davidson","slug":"pete-davidson","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/entertainment/topic/pete-davidson"},{"name":"op-ed","slug":"op-ed","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/op-ed","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/op-ed","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/op-ed"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"News","slug":"news","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/news"},{"name":"civility","slug":"civility","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/civility","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/civility","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/civility"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/civility"},{"name":"Dan Crenshaw","slug":"dan-crenshaw","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/dan-crenshaw","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/dan-crenshaw","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/dan-crenshaw"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/dan-crenshaw"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

It felt like the right thing to do. I would appreciate it if everybody would stop looking for reasons to be offended and thats what this was all about.-Dan Crenshaw on his surprise SNL appearance pic.twitter.com/7WygTrYYCg
TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 12, 2018

In the editorial Tuesday, the former Navy SEAL said he hoped the appearance would be a tiny step in the direction of civility but noted that, as a country, we still have a lot of work to do.

There are many ideas that we will never agree on. The left and the right have different ways of approaching governance, based on contrasting philosophies, he wrote. But many of the ultimate goals economic prosperity, better health care and education, etc. are the same. We just dont share the same vision of how to achieve them.