by jpitney | Jan 6, 2024 | Constitution, Deliberation
Nathan Gardels at Noema: “Constitutions need general acceptance so we can turn to their rules to manage our differences,” the former left-of-center Chilean President Ricardo Lagos told me in September 2022 after the first attempt to ratify a proposed new constitution...
by jpitney | Dec 24, 2023 | Civility, Debate, Deliberation
Arthur Brooks interview at Politico: It’s statistically impossible that I’m right on everything that I think. I’m wrong on a bunch of stuff and the only way I’m going to figure that out is by surrounding myself with and having loving conversations where I listen to...
by jpitney | Dec 21, 2023 | Civic Education, Civility, Deliberation
Dan Balz at WP: Longwood University, a public institution, is located in Farmville [VA]. Its leaders have instituted a curriculum called Civitae that encourages active citizenship and perhaps over time a reduction in the country’s tensions and divisions. “We are...
by jpitney | Sep 7, 2023 | Civility, Debate, Deliberation, Presidency
A statement from 13 presidential centers The unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, are principles that bind us together as Americans. They have enabled the United States to strive toward a more...
by jpitney | Sep 6, 2023 | Civic Education, Claremont McKenna College, Deliberation, Free Speech
The Institute for Citizens & Scholars Campus Call for Free Expression is a commitment by a diverse group of college presidents to urgently spotlight, uplift, and re-emphasize the principles of critical inquiry and civic discourse on their campuses. The Campus Call...
by jpitney | Aug 31, 2023 | Deliberation, Higher Education
William Galston at WSJ: When I introduced undergraduates to the U.S. Constitution, I asked them to read James Madison’s detailed notes from the 1787 Constitutional Convention. They were fascinated to learn that ostensibly sacrosanct words had been the subject of...
