Many people think that they're not knowledgable or savvy enough to think through public policy questions, so they shy away from discussing them. In a previous post, I pointed out…
Some people ask us why we’re planning on making games a part of the civic platform we’re developing. The answer is that games can not only help engage citizens, but…
Yet another Frequently Voiced Objection to participating in civil discussion is that it can’t change the “spin” that the powerful put on the news and other political information: It’s not…
The next Frequently Voiced Objection to civil discussion doesn’t stem from rejecting politics but from the belief that information is the only “food group” citizens need. Photo by AutrementDit Toronto.…
Some people object to getting involved in civil discussions for the simple reason that they can’t be bothered. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard this sort of…
A fifth Frequently Voiced Objection to participating in civil discussion is, like the previous two, based on a wholesale rejection of politics: Government, politics, public policy—they’ve always struck me as…
The fourth Frequently Voiced Objection to getting involved in civil discussion is, like the previous one, rooted in the assumption that politics isn’t worth talking about to begin with—not because…
Another reason people often write off politics—and with it, getting involved in civil discussion— is that they believe that politics is rigged from the start. This Frequently Voiced Objection often…
Conflict and even mild disagreement is frequently accompanied by this Frequently Voiced Objection: Photo by hans s My reaction to political issues is that people act too much like squabbling…
In several of my previous blogs, I’ve tried to explain that civil discussion makes us wiser by helping us understand the world, ourselves, each other, and possibilities. I also noted…
The blog you'll find by clicking on this link describes three levels of trust: deterrence, knowledge, and identity. Photo by hang_in_there The piece makes for interesting reading on its own, but…
Photo by Demokratikollektivet Watch it! Take a few minutes to read this non-partisan editorial in favor of civil discussion and I think you'll agree that it's even more relevant today…
The final way that civil discussion helps make us wiser is also the most subtle, but not if we remember that civil discussion isn’t only—or even mainly—about “the way things…
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…