EnCiv exists to promote democratic discourse. That’s why we aspire to be not only non-partisan but cross-partisan, as well. What’s the difference? And why are both important to EnCiv’s mission?
Non-partisan means not endorsing candidates for office or policy positions. EnCiv won’t do either because our mission isn’t to advocate one candidate or side over another, but rather to enable citizens to inform themselves, have discussions, and make decisions. Pushing a partisan agenda would subvert EnCiv’s core mission because it would lead us to exclude certain positions.
Despite our own best intentions and internal safeguards, however, the EnCiv team is realistic enough to recognize that partisan leanings might still affect our work. That’s where EnCiv’s commitment to cross-partisanship comes in. Cross-partisanship means actively seeking out–and giving voice to–new perspectives. Doing so is far more demanding than avoiding partisanship, for it requires constant effort to extend the circle of democratic discourse–both to those who aren’t yet participating and to ideas that haven’t yet been explored. Understood in this way, cross-partisanship is even more demanding than “balance” or “neutrality”, which require only a fair representation of existing ideas or positions (see “Why Neutrality?” by EnCiv advisor and Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger). Aiming for cross-partisanship leads us to constantly look for new positions to include.
When it comes right down to it, then, both non-partisanship and cross-partisanship serve the same two interconnected values: equality and a search for better solutions. For democratic discourse to flourish, all citizens must have an equal say and the search for answers to our problems cannot be limited to what one group–or even most of us–believe right now.
