In my work for Interactivity Foundation (IF) over the past 16-plus years, I've often heard seniors say something like this: Photo by rakef I used to discuss politics quite often…
Yet another Frequently Voiced Objection that leads people to check out of civil discussion is that politics is simply too daunting: My problem with getting involved in a serious political…
Civility is not an all or nothing thing; it is more like an ascent involving a set of interactive and increasingly demanding activities and skills. Civil discussion gives us a…
Another short video in which I explain why Franklin--not Washington, Jefferson, or Madison--is my favorite Founder. Franklin--a strong believer in discussion--remains with us as a practical guide and inspiration.
A second Frequently Voiced Objection to getting involved in civil discussion is rooted in the view that politics as a whole is just too sordid an affair to dirty one’s…
Incivility doesn’t cure itself. Indeed, there’s good reason to think that it will only get worse if we do nothing to combat it. But what can we do about it? …
If incivility harms us in so many ways, both as individual citizens and as a society, why does it seem to have reached epidemic proportions? I think the answer has…
Comparing incivility to disease helps bring home some of the ways its negative effects on individuals and society interact. Incivility presents itself “clinically” as disrespect and discrimination, on one hand,…
Incivility doesn’t just harm us as individual citizens; it harms us as a society, too—in at least three ways. First, by making it difficult—if not impossible—to engage in reasoned exchanges,…
As long as a discussion is respectful, constructive, open, and fair, we think it qualifies as “civil”—and worth having. At the same time, keep in mind that there are different…
Our website’s home page proclaims that EnCiv is all about “civil discussion for a better democracy.” Just what do we mean by that? How, specifically, does civil discussion improve democracy?…
Incivility is distasteful, sometimes disgusting, and occasionally downright offensive, but does it do real harm? —More than you might think: both to all of us as individual citizens and…
In my last post I gave a capsule description of EnCiv’s understanding of “civil discussion.” I now want to add an important detail: civil discussion’s key dimensions—being respectful, constructive, and…
“Train yourself to let go of what you fear to lose” – Yoda, Star Wars III What is Civil Discourse? Photo by brizzle born and bred Kenneth J. Gergen describes…