Working group issues a guide to revitalizing American civic culture
September 26, 2024 | Cambridge, MA – – The American Academy of Arts & Sciences today released Habits of Heart and Mind: How to Fortify Civic Culture, a resource for repairing and strengthening civic culture in America. In a highly polarized political environment, the Academy’s new publication reminds us America is united by people who believe in its ideals and who balance their self-interest with the well-being of their community and country.
In 2023, the Academy convened the Working Group on Defining Civic Culture – a diverse group of 18 distinguished scholars, philanthropists, journalists, civic leaders, activists, artists, and educators – to examine how civic culture is connected to a functioning constitutional democracy. Building on the Academy’s 2020 report, Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, the working group identified seven key pillars of a healthy civic culture, drawn from case studies in communities around the country.
“Elections come and go but civic culture persists. Building a strong civic culture is essential for the health of our democracy,” said Eric Liu, Cochair of the bipartisan Commission that issued Our Common Purpose and Chair of the working group that issued this new resource. “This groundbreaking report highlights the what, the why, and the how of creating a robust civic culture in the places where Americans live. We focus on proven ways for citizens to replace blame with responsibility, helplessness with agency, and self-centeredness with mutual support. Our hope is that Americans from all sectors can learn to strengthen civic culture using the tools we share in this report.”
According to the Academy’s new resource, these are seven ways to strengthening civic culture in America:
- Shared Joy: The more online we become, the more important face-to-face experiences become for helping us stay engaged. Shared moments of joy help us feel connected to something larger than ourselves.
- Habits of Service: Service, from military duty to small acts like helping a neighbor, is central to a thriving American society.
- Space for Free Exchange of Ideas: Americans value diverse opinions. A healthy civic culture relies on open discourse and creating spaces for the trading, testing, and sharpening of ideas even across deep divides.
- Codesign and Decision-Making: Americans are often doubtful of their ability to effect change. We can reverse this by involving community members in decision-making processes to foster a sense of ownership.
- Mutualism and Mutual Aid: We each have valuable things to contribute to our communities, and areas where we need support. When we give and receive from those around us, we build relationships, trust, and cooperation.
- Narratives of Common Purpose: Our democracy is united by stories of shared experiences which are powerful in building consensus and a common purpose among Americans regardless of language, ethnicity, or religion.
- Shared Places: Third places are vital for a healthy civic culture, as they nurture deeper connections by bringing people together for shared activity outside the home or workplace.
The report spotlights Center for the Future of Arizona and the Atlanta Civic Collaboratory as two examples of organizations at the cutting edge of both civic culture programming and the development of metrics to measure how change is unfolding.
“Connected communities lead to stronger relationships, increased trust, and improved access to information. Our work at Center for the Future of Arizona shows that lasting positive changes can occur when communities come together to engage, listen, and collaborate,” said Sybil Francis, President and CEO of Center for the Future of Arizona.
“Not only does Habits of Heart and Mind define the essential pillars of civic culture, it elevates the community leaders doing the hard work required to build a stronger civic culture in their communities. By sharing valuable lessons from their success, it empowers all of us with the inspiration and know-how to strengthen our own communities from within,” said Goodwin Liu, Board Chair of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Access the full report here.