Now that we are fortunate enough to be past the pandemic, the Institute is excited to be back to our full programming capabilities, and we are taking full advantage! This spring and summer we have been busier than ever! On April 12th we were delighted to take a Congressional Student Forum in person to a…
There are headlines across the nation almost every day about violence. That, of course, is nothing new. Yet it is disturbing to be constantly assaulted by bad news, and to hear statistics tell us that crime is up, gun violence is up, and polarization has increased, while hate crimes of all sorts become more and…
During the pandemic many of us have spent a little time binge watching either our favorite programs from years past or perhaps series that we missed out on when we were busier. I’ve done a little binge watching myself. One of the first series I indulged in was The West Wing, a well-known show that…
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…
Increasingly popular since the late 2000s, TED talks cover a wide gamut of topics — political, scientific, and creative. The organization was founded in 1984, and the website — which features more than 1,500 openly licensed videos from TED conferences around the world — has become a place where creativity and curiosity merge, and where anyone can listen in on a world of ideas.
As co-founders of a nonprofit organization seeking to impact the governing process and our lives in community, we have taken on a rather large task. We seek to motivate people not only to make changes in how they interact with others in the midst of conflict, but also to come together to form a civility movement that will shape our culture into a more civil one.
