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At the Institute for Civility in Government we are all about building civility everywhere – in homes, local communities, businesses, schools, and government at all levels. And it is important to build civility in ALL of the communities in which we are a part – not just one or two, but rather across the board. …
Regardless of which political party wins, every inauguration brings with it new hope, new possibilities, and renewed calls for unity and civility, along with a dose of skepticism and displeasure from those among the losing party. The proportion of hope to skepticism and/or outright resentment may vary from administration to administration, but these are…
No matter where you lie on the political spectrum – far left, far right, or somewhere in between – most Americans can acknowledge that we are in a time of great political unrest. Some may deny this, commenting that they are “perfectly fine with how things are,” and have “never been happier” with our political…
A Fictional Adaptation of Tribalism in Politics in the United States by Mea Ayers The bets are in. The Facebook posts are up, and the flags are out, lining the front yards. This is the day everyone has been waiting for. Countless hours of preparation and training paired with many days on the road…
This post was written by Mea Ayers. Mea is a high school senior from Houston, Texas who is serving as a guest blogger for the Institute this summer. In today’s climate, entertainment opportunities seem endless. With bottomless content sources such as Youtube, Netflix, Yahoo, Hulu, and Google widely available to the public, one would think…
April 1, 2018 marked twenty years since we launched the Institute on Capitol Hill. We thought it was going to be easy. We thought that the essential nature of civility in public (and private) discourse was obvious. We thought thousands of people would join our organization and within a few years we would be working…
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died unexpectedly this past Saturday, is not someone whose name we usually associate with civility. Reflecting on his life for The New York Times, Bruce Allan Murphy, law professor and author of Scalia: A Court of One, writes that he changed the United States Supreme Court… more than President…
We here at the Institute all already knew it was true, but it’s confirmed: Americans do in fact care about civility. According to a recent poll conducted by communications firms Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate, with KRC Research, the great majority of likely voters in the upcoming Presidential race say that they care about the civility of…
Thanksgiving is Thursday, and even at the best of times, it can be a seething crucible of potential political strife. Every year, newspapers around the country opine about ways to avoid political conflict with distant (and sometimes near) relations, and to keep the holiday cool, and calm, and genial for all involved. Two years ago…
Last Sunday, the Institute and its definition of civility were featured in The Houston Chronicle as part of its ongoing blog series, The Peace Pastor, written by Marty Troyer of the Houston Mennonite church. Troyer, writing about what we might perceive to be difficult conversations, tells us that there are two keys to preparing for…
