How to Fortify Civic Culture in America

Something is broken at the heart of American civic life. Years past the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our society is beset with widening social epidemics of loneliness, ideological polarization, conspiracy thinking, mistrust, and despair. While political institutions, partisan media and individual politicians can contribute to worsening disunity, they are joined by something bigger at the root of American life. That something is civic culture – the sum of the countless choices millions of Americans make every day as we navigate how to live together. Civic culture shapes how we treat one another, whether we care for our community, how we show up to solve common problems, and whether we are able to disagree without hating one another.

We launched a new Academy publication, Habits of Heart and Mind: How to Fortify Civic Culture, to discuss the what, why, and how of civic culture in America. Featuring Ben Klutsey, Eric Liu, and Natalie Tran, this session celebrated the many organizations working to reinvigorate civic culture today and the methods they use to fortify our civic culture before, during, and after the U.S. presidential election, in a conversation led by incoming Academy president Laurie Patton.

The discussion, introduced by Academy Board Chair Goodwin Liu (Supreme Court of California), underscored the urgency of strengthening America’s civic culture following the Election, approaches to fostering free exchange in civic life, and opportunities for individuals and organizations to promote healthy civic culture in their communities, workplaces and public spaces. 

Learn more about the Academy’s new report and initiative to promote healthy civic culture.