Since the first days of the Arab Spring, social media has been celebrated for its role in helping to foment democracy in countries that don't yet have it. An intriguing though less dramatic question back home is this: Can using Facebook or using Twitter also be used to strengthen democracy and civic engagement in countries like the U.S. that do have it? The answer isn't so obvious. Political operatives and White House insiders have touted the power of Facebook, Twitter and Google to engage the public in election season and the governing decisions that follow. But contrarian voices have ... Read More
Taking Liberties Back From the Patriot Act
May 17, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
America has a long — and at times embarrassing — history of curbing civil liberties in times of perceived peril. There were the Alien and Sedition Acts of the late 1700s, authorizing the deportation of immigrants and restricting the free speech of government critics during wartime. Later, there came the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the investigation of citizens suspected of sympathizing with communism during the Cold War and the surveillance of antiwar activists during the Vietnam era. "In each of these cases," said Julian Sanchez, a researcher at the ... Read More
Anger, Politics and the Wisdom of Uncertainty
May 16, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
To say that these are angry political times is perhaps to state the obvious. Commentators and analysts bemoan the lost civility, wondering what is to be done. But here's something hopeful: New understanding of how emotions operate in politics might help us to better manage these emotions as a society. The first thing to know about anger is where it comes from. Research suggests it begins with a threat (in these political times, say, rising economic insecurity). But whether it gets translated into anger depends on a few things. First, it matters how the threat is described. If there's ... Read More
Corruption Leads to More Corruption
June 6, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
Once upon a time, there was a monarchy. Like many governments, it required a number of people — dukes, knights, lords, etc. — to function. These people were chosen based on their proximity or loyalty to the royal family, which was itself royal because it had more money and land than other families. The members of the court were rewarded for their service to the royal family, and they drew their power from having more money and power than everyone else. Back in the days of monarchies, government officials who were in with the king (and/or queen) were, to a large extent, allowed to do ... Read More
Building a Better Citizen
November 2, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
In the late 1980s, Hampton, Va., faced the challenges of many blue-collar cities along its stretch of the southern Chesapeake: rising unemployment, a stagnant economy and the flight of young families to seek better jobs and fuller lives elsewhere. City leaders gambled on a novel response. They would target young people, hoping to cultivate a generation of citizens committed to Hampton's long-term vitality. In 1990, the city launched Hampton Youth Civic Engagement, a program to instill community pride and leadership skills in young people and engage them in governance. The program was ... Read More
How the Poorest Americans Dropped Out of Politics
May 21, 2009 • By • 1 Comment
In the 2008 election, lower-income Americans voted at significantly lower rates than higher-income Americans. This was not, in itself, news. Just as in 2004, more than 60 percent of voters came from families above the median household income of $50,000. That family income is a significant predictor of individual voting is a long-standing and oft-lamented fact of American political life. But over the last several decades, inequality in the United States has worsened. Between 1973 and 2000, the richest one-fifth of Americans saw their family income grow by 66.9 percent, while the poorest ... Read More
Morals Authority
April 27, 2009 • By • 15 Comments
Jonathan Haidt is hardly a road-rage kind of guy, but he does get irritated by self-righteous bumper stickers. The soft-spoken psychologist is acutely annoyed by certain smug slogans that adorn the cars of fellow liberals: "Support our troops: Bring them home" and "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." "No conservative reads those bumper stickers and thinks, 'Hmm — so liberals are patriotic!'" he says, in a sarcastic tone of voice that jarringly contrasts with his usual subdued sincerity. "We liberals are universalists and humanists; it's not part of our morality to highly value ... Read More
Godfather of National Service Sees Bright Future
January 12, 2009 • By • Leave a Comment
Over his almost 83 years, Harris Wofford has been a lawyer, a serviceman in World War II, an author, a civil rights pioneer, one of the founders of the Peace Corps, a college president (SUNY's Old Westbury campus and Bryn Mawr), a Democratic U.S. senator for Pennsylvania, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service (from 1995 to 2001) and a lifelong proponent of universal voluntary national service. With the incoming administration extolling national service — former Secretary of State Colin Powell unveiled Barack Obama's "Renew America Together" program just last week — ... Read More
