Goals:
Comprehensive civics education for all public schools (pre-K-12) by 2030
Civil dialogue with family, friends, fellow citizens now
The Issue: The ability to communicate with one another about our government requires a shared understanding of our country's principle foundations and a desire for understanding over proving a point.
Currently, only about one-third of native-born Americans can pass the US Citizenship test of getting six out of ten questions on the test correct (1). And all Americans have recently experienced the outcome of divisive talk on cable news and other outlets of distortion.
Why?
Democrats and Republicans in Congress cannot agree on funding education that teaches America's foundational principles. For the past fifty years, states have chipped away at funding many programs in our public school systems including civics education. Thirty-one states only require a half-year of civics or U.S. government education, and 10 states have no civics requirement (2).
How can we expect the people that vote for elected officials to understand the power of their vote when our society has failed to provide them the tools necessary to be informed patriots.
When people are uninformed they may 'go with their gut'. Leading with emotions, or deciding our vote based on who we want to have a beer with, has led to confusion and frustration. This frustration has led to anger and distrust.
Potential Solution(s): A first step would be providing grace in difficult conversations by presuming positive intent when communicating with those that we may not fully agree with or completely understand.
Engaging these simple steps may lead to deeper and more civil conversations:
Decide on ground rules
Listen actively
Limit grandstanding
Reject name-calling, stereotypes, belittling
Be considerate
Remember the relationship
Be mindful of power dynamics
Agree to disagree
More details: Fighting Hate for Good
A second step would be engaging with your local school district about civics programs or enrichment available for all kids (pre-K-12). Children are ~30% of our population, but 100% of our future.
One positive resource: Project citizen
Citations:
(1): https://woodrow.org/news/national-survey-finds-just-1-in-3-americans-would-pass-citizenship-test/
(2): https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/02/21/446857/state-civics-education/