I said in my first entry on this topic that, among other benefits, civil discussion can help us understand other people. How it does so—by encouraging us to hear them…
Civil discussion can not only help us understand the world around us, as I explained last time, it can also help us understand ourselves better. In my opinion, this is…
Civil discussion—discussion that is truly respectful, constructive and open and fair to all views makes us wiser in multiple ways. The first is by helping us understand the world better. …
This poignant message from a young man who describes himself as “Christian, Conservative and Republican” is as simple as it is powerful: Listen first. The author is founder and president…
https://youtu.be/VUfnVJuMQCw In this minute long video I describe why I'm a EnCiv team member, which comes down to this: I've seen discussion's power in the classroom, at work, in…
Facebook is among the titans of social media--but hardly a friendly one. In fact, according to an in-depth analysis by major Facebook investor Roger McNamee, social media giants like Facebook…
The last Frequently Voiced Objection to participating in civil discussion is not so much mistaken or misguided but limited. Photo by ming1967 Political discussions come in a lot of “flavors.”…
Every civics student can tell you that democracy means “rule by the people”. But who hasn’t doubted whether that leaves any role for us as individuals? I’ve never understood why…
This objection to civil discussion was first put in written form by Aristotle some 2400 years ago, who said: “Politics requires leisure.” I’ve really never been that aware of what’s…
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.