by jpitney | Jul 25, 2020 | Civility, Deliberation
Emily Ekins at Cato: A new Cato national survey finds that self‐censorship is on the rise in the United States. Nearly two-thirds—62%—of Americans say the political climate these days prevents them from saying things they believe because others might find them...
by jpitney | Jul 24, 2020 | Civility, Deliberation
President George H.W. Bush, University of Michigan Commencement, May 4, 1991: The freedom to speak one’s mind — that may be the most fundamental and deeply revered of all our liberties. Americans, to debate, to say what we think — because, you see,...
by jpitney | Jul 23, 2020 | Civility, Coronavirus, Deliberation
Shaun Cammack at The Deseret News: When the stakes are high, like during a pandemic, we often click into a tribal psychology that identifies the problem, or problematic persons, and desires to eliminate them. It’s the kind of “us versus threat” response that kept...
by jpitney | Jul 21, 2020 | Civility, Deliberation
“Exposure to Opposing Reasons Reduces Negative Impressions of Ideological Opponents” Matthew L. Stanley, Peter S. Whitehead, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, and Paul Seli Duke University Abstract: Americans have become increasingly likely to dislike, distrust,...
by jpitney | Jul 17, 2020 | Deliberation, Race
Conor Friedersdorf (Pomona alum) at The Atlantic: When I was 21, the United States experienced a national trauma: the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, the nearly 3,000 people killed in that day’s terrorist attacks, the ruins left smoldering for months at...
by jpitney | Jul 14, 2020 | Congress, Coronavirus, Deliberation, Technology
Marci Harris, Claire Abernathy, and Kevin Esterling at Brookings: The chaos surrounding Congress’s switch to remote work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare weaknesses of Congress’s technical procedures and infrastructure, from its inability to hold...
