“If we’re going to revive civility norms, it’s going to happen in communities at the local level,” says Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer, executive director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse.

Today, the norm is more often stress – 57 percent of Americans cite the current political climate as a major source of stress. One in 6 Am,erican actually say they have a fractured family relationship due to politics. That why the work of civil discourse has to happen in communities, says Lukensmeyer. We’re way beyond our politics in how it impacts our lives.

How We Got Here

Numerous factors landed our country in this position:

• Money in politics
• Gerrymandering
• Election rules
• 24/7 news cycle – the news media expects instant responses to crisis situations
• Social media
• Growing economic disparities
• Rising social isolation – we’re living in more segregated neighborhoods by race and class than before the Civil Rights movement

How Do We Change Course

The National Institute for Civil Discourse conducts interdisciplinary research and brings people together for civil conversations to find common ground on divisive issues. TMuch of their work revolves around legislatures and the general public:

• Elected officials – Next Generation Workshops are facilitated by state legislators for state legislators. The National Network of State Legislators serves as a forum for legislators to exchanged ideas and information, coordinate actions, and receive support.
• Public – The Institute holds Civility Workshops for large and small groups. They also offer a Text and Talk Revive Civility program and a variety of other initiatives.

Lukensmeyer shared a video that showed the powerful effect of dropping labels and actually getting to know someone. As a tribute to a friend who had passed away, Donna – a long-time gay activity – decided to try to get to know someone completely different from her. She chose Bob, the leader of a conservative Christian organization. To her surprise, he agreed to have coffee with her. And to her further surprise, she discovered that he was actually a pretty nice guy. In the months since, they have met several more times for coffee. They still disagree on major issues, but they have gotten to know and appreciate each other as people. And now, every time Bob writes a press release, he thinks about how Donna would feel about it.

Bottom line: You can’t have democracy without quality conversations across differences.

For more information about the National Institute for Civil Discourse, visit https://nicd.arizona.edu/