What Would You Give to Renew Democracy ?

I had the privilege to attend the Braver Angels Convention in Philadelphia at the end of June, just on the eve of our nation’s 250th anniversary of its independence. It was an occasion to reflect on the meaning and scope of our individual responsibilities as citizens of this country. It inspired me to see so many people working harder to make democracy work better.  I saw members of congress talking across the aisle. I saw hundreds of nonprofits and engaged citizens showing up for important causes. I witnessed people from across the political spectrum engaging in difficult but important discussions and finding common ground. As a member of the Braver Angels Civic Scholars Council, I saw academics and practitioners finding a common vocabulary and purpose centered on civic renewal. I am more convinced than ever that we need civic renewal in this country. We need a radical transformation of our frustration and apathy into principled and disciplined action.

At Engage, we have challenged people to pledge a birthday gift to the nation—something, anything at all that they could do to improve their civic engagement. Citizenship entails many responsibilities, not the least of which is the importance of being an active and informed voter. If your first step is to be more active and informed at the voting booth, congratulations! Far too many Americans fall short. Beyond that, however, we still have a great number of opportunities to magnify our influence on society. On our website, we have included many such resources and opportunities, and we are providing profiles of citizens who are showing the way. Of course, we do not need more citizens full of more vitriol and contempt. Dysfunction in Washington and elsewhere discourages many of us from caring or wanting to learn more about what ails our country. However, to the extent that otherwise fair-minded and principled people withdraw or merely spectate, we contribute to the polarization and the civic decline all around us. I fully recognize that there is a great deal of social pressure from the two sides to have the correct or acceptable opinions on hot button issues and that many of us spend a lot of time and energy defending what we consider to be the right views, but having strong or even good opinions does not make us better citizens nor do opinions in the end change anything per se. Concrete and collaborative actions, stronger networks, and shared accountability for the civic sphere are what make change possible. As Jon Alexander argues, we need to change from seeing ourselves as consumers of public services and instead as citizens who share the responsibility for how well democracy works and government serves.

What does civic renewal look like? Imagine your community seeing differences not only as inevitable but as desirable. Imagine your community looking out for the well-being of everyone in the way that we speak, act, and vote. Imagine shared respect for the rule of law and an embrace of the constitutional principles of balance of powers and compromise. Imagine public officials and citizens alike who value integrity, honesty, decency, kindness, and fairness for all. Imagine a political culture that is guided more by a commitment to universal human flourishing than by party or candidate loyalty, where party is a means to a higher end, not an end itself. Imagine elected officials and voters alike whose loyalty is to conscience and principle before party. Imagine a political process that welcomes a broad and robust competition of ideas and between parties and that produces candidates who listen, who seek to represent everyone, and who denigrate no one. Imagine citizens not voting, not caring, and not knowing anything about current events as exceedingly rare. Imagine the end of hyper-partisanship and demonizing of the other side. Imagine a celebration of civic duty at the heart of our schools, our media, our arts, and our faiths.

Now, imagine one more thing: imagine that instead of blaming individuals and forces beyond your control, you accepted your role in renewing and sustaining such a community.  What will your contribution look like? Will you be a more informed voter and help others to be so as well? Will you actively support a candidate’s campaign? Will you get involved in reforming or building a healthy party? Will you fight for a good cause, join a nonprofit, or invite others to support an important effort? Will you stand up for common decency and fairness for all? Will you oppose erosion of democratic norms and corruption, even if it happens in your own party? Will you run for office or encourage others to do so?

We don’t have to solve all of our problems or any of them by ourselves. Renewal will take a sustained and collective effort, but it has to start with each of us individually and it needs to start now. If our founding fathers pledged their lives, their honor, and their fortunes to give us this country, we can surely give more time and effort and show more courage today to renew our civic culture. What will our pledge be? We invite you to make your pledge here.

George Handley, Executive Director of Engage