To combat these trends, communities that engage in the hard, but necessary, work of cultivating civic ties have found the bonds of trust can be reconnected. Committing to respectful dialog with those we disagree with is the first crucial step toward healing division, and doing this at the local level is paramount to building a more robust, and perhaps more important, content democratic citizenry.
Several efforts like this exist around the country including, for example, the Knight Foundation-funded project titled “On the Table,” which provided grants to communities to bring diverse groups of individuals together for a meal and conversation about local issues and challenges.
In light of this, a small group of community leaders began thinking about how something similar might be facilitated in Springfield and have proposed a new initiative called “Community Conversations: Building and Strengthening Civic Friendships,” which will be launched Monday. The objectives are to help citizens understand key aspects of our political system, empower them to be constructively engaged in civic affairs, and instill hope that our system is resilient enough to weather the challenges we face.
Community members are invited to attend a series of six sessions led by academic experts on topics that are contributing to the divisiveness we’re experiencing. These one-hour sessions will be preceded by a 30-minute social time with refreshments. The format will be predominantly discussion-based, along with some presentation of scholarly perspectives on each of the following topics:
1. How Americans define “good citizenship.”
2. Confirmation bias and media consumption.
3. What Americans think about the “American Dream.”
4. Americans’ shared values.
5. Americans’ polarized views of the legal system and rule of law.
6. How gerrymandering undermines democracy.
The conversations will be held at the Springfield Museum of Art beginning at 5 p.m. for mingling, with the discussion/presentations commencing at 5:30. More information, including recommended readings, can be found at www.wittenberg.edu/hagen-center/civic-education-series.
At another fraught time in America’s history, President Lincoln stood before those gathered at his first inauguration, after several states had already seceded from the Union, and pleaded: “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.” Shall we heed his words and endeavor to rebuild and strengthen our civic friendships? I invite you to join us as we try, together.
Rob Baker, Ph.D., is a professor of political science at Wittenberg University.
- Dr. Rob Baker, Professor of Political Science
- Dr. Staci Rhine, Professor of Political Science
- Dr. Julius Bailey, Professor of Philosophy
- Dr. Tom Taylor, Professor of History
Springfield Area Civic Education Series - Recommended Reading List
This list of readings is organized primarily according to the topics that will be discussed during the series. Ideally, participants could read some of these prior to each session, but the sources are also meant to help provide additional information for further individual exploration of the key topics. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, but only as a sample of sources on the various topics dealt with in the series.
Readings on “Democratic Deconsolidation” and the Challenges to American Democracy
- Applebaum, Anne. The Twilight of Democracy, New York: Doubleday, 2020.
- Baker, John. R. Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024.
- Buckley, Frank H. American Secession: The Looming Threat of a National Breakup, New York: Encounter Press, 2020.
- Foa, Roberto Stefan and Yascha Mounk, “The Signs of Deconsolidation,” Journal of Democracy, 28 (January 2017), pp. 5-15.
- Fukuyama, Francis. Liberalism and its Discontents, New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022.
- Inglehart, Ronald F., “The Dangers of Deconsolidation: How Much Should We Worry?” Journal of Democracy, 27 (July 2016), pp. 18-23.
- Hudson, William E., American Democracy in Peril, 9th Edition, Los Angeles, CA: CQ Press, 2021.
- Levitsky, Steven, and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die, New York, NY: Crown Publishers, 2018.
- Nichols, Tom, Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from Within on Modern Democracy, New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.
- Sharlet, Jeff. The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, New York: W.W. Norton, 2023.
- Stanley, Jason. How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, New York: Random House, 2020.
Topic 1 (Monday): “What Does Good Citizenship Mean to You?”
- “Being Gardeners of our Communities,” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 132-133.
- Dalton, Russell J. The Good Citizen, 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press, 2021.
- “Good Citizenship—What Does it Mean to You?” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 120-121.
- “Incivility in American Politics,” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 27-29.
- Shriver, Jr., Donald, An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness’ in Politics, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
- Tutu, Desmond, and Mpho Tutu, Made for Goodness and Why This Makes All the Difference, New York: HarperOne, 2011.
Topic 2 (July 29): “Confirmation Bias and Media Consumption”
- “Confirmation Bias Hurts Our Democracy,” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 23-25.
- “Facts Matter, but Do They Speak for Themselves?” in John R. Baker, Strengthening America Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 25-27.
- “Fake News: Misinformation/Disinformation/What is Confirmation Bias?,” subjectguides.lib.neu.edu/fakenews/what.
- Interactive Media Bias Chart: adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/.
- Ziva Kunda, “The Case for Motivated Reasoning,” Psychological Bulletin 108 (1990), 480., doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.108.3.480.
Topic 3 (Aug. 12): “The American Dream Under Stress”
- Levitsky and Ziblatt, How Democracies Die, New York: Crown Publishers, 2018.
- “Still Believe in the American Dream?” in Baker, John R., Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 20-21.
- The American Dream is under siege | CNN Business (Online Reading)
Topic 4 (Aug. 26): “What are America’s Values?”
- “American Creed” video, www.americancreed.org/watch.
- “Can America’s Center be Rebuilt?” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 121-123.
- Huntington, Samuel P., American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1981, pp. 60-84.
- Rocky, 1976, Film directed by John G. Avildsen, Distributed by United Artists.
- “Sworn-Again, America,” citizenuniversity.us/participate/sworn-again/.
Topic 5 (Sept. 9): “Polarization, Public Perception of the Legal System, and the Legitimacy of the Rule of Law.”
- Readings TBD
Topic 6 (Sept. 23): “How Does Gerrymandering Undermine Democracy, and What Can We Do About It?”
- Olson, Brian. “Algorithmic Gerrymandering.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K0ICEv2Zks.
- “Fix Gerrymandering to Reduce Gridlock and Extremism,” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp.101-105.
- “Freedom Caucus Shows Corrosive Effects of Gerrymandering,” in John R. Baker, Strengthening American Democracy: Reflection, Action, and Reform, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, Broadview Press, 2024, pp. 105-107.
- “Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission Amendment, 2024.” ballotpedia.org/Ohio_Citizens_Redistricting_Commission_Amendment_(2024).
- Smith, Paul M., “The Supreme Court, Gerrymandering, and the Rule of Law,” American Bar Association, July 26, 2023. www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-end-of-the-rule-of-law/the-supreme-court-gerrymandering-and-the-rule-of-law/.
Survey
While the series organizers have devised a set of topics for the civic education series that they believe will be informative and interesting, they are also seeking input from you about any specific questions you would like answered, or additional topics you’d like to discuss during the series. They will work to accommodate your feedback as much as possible. Take their survey: www.surveymonkey.com/r/M3GBP6Y
How To Go
Where: The Springfield Museum of Art
When: Monday. Mingling begins at 5 p.m., with discussion/presentations at 5:30
More information: www.wittenberg.edu/hagen-center/civic-education-series
How to watch: Livestream at www.facebook.com/springfieldusatv
About the Author