August 11, 2011

Friends and Colleagues-      

Center for Civil Discourse
What a fascinating (that's one way to put it) time to be a student of public policy! A key premise of a pluralistic, multi-party democratic system is the underlying assumption that policymakers get up in the morning and think about how they can advance the public good, trying to attain as much of their objectives as possible, allowing for reasonable compromise with those who hold other views.  There seems to be none of that these days.  It seems like policymakers-at least elected officials-get up in the morning and think about how they can advance their political agenda, humiliate their opponents, and despise compromise. In our own small way, we at the McCormack Graduate School plan to address this situation with our new Center for Civil Discourse.  As I wrote in our proposal:

American political discourse seems on a path to paralysis. Extremist rhetoric, demagoguery, and the politics of personal destruction permeate every level of public debate, from Congress to traditional media to the Internet.  The lack of civility and civil discourse appear to threaten central features of a well-ordered American polity and are a cause of increasing alarm among the general public....

Yet, American history is no stranger to extremely uncivil political discourse at critical junctures in its history, perhaps never more so than in the extraordinarily generative Founding period.  And even after Tucson, many would argue that incivility is either a trivial irrelevancy or the price to be paid for individual liberty and self expression. 

What exactly is civility and is it central to American democracy?  If so, in what ways?  How has civil discourse operated-or not-throughout American history? ...These and other allied questions must be at the forefront of public consideration, as the nation wrestles with today's toxic political and media environment. 

The Center for Civil Discourse will hold a series of public events in 2012 to explore the concepts of civility and civil discourse and put them into practice.  Nationally recognized scholars of history, philosophy, comparative religion, law, culture and the arts will participate in "Civility and American Democracy: A National Forum" in February 2012, to deepen our collective understanding of civility, the tensions in its theory and application, and its place in American democracy.  Two national "Democracy Debates," structured pursuant to the intellectual content of the Forum will follow in June and September, focused on urgent and controversial issues of the day.  Both the Forum and Debates will engage a broad general audience through radio and television broadcasts and live streaming on the Internet.  A vigorous on-line community will participate before and after all events, extending the public conversation throughout the year.

I am thrilled to be able to announce that we have been tentatively awarded a $400,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to fund the National Forum on Civility and American Democracy.  It is a prestigious award, one of the largest ever granted in New England, and we are deeply appreciative of the support that former Congressman Jim Leach and others at the NEH have indicated for this project. 

American Presidents
I don't know what to make of Barack Obama. I read his Dreams from My Father, early in the presidential campaign, and was awestruck to think that we could have such a sophisticated thinker as a President.  I thought we might have a President who would attain the ideal of Plato's "Philosopher King": for the Republic to succeed, he wrote, "philosophers [must] become kings ... or those now called kings [must] genuinely and adequately philosophize."  I'm afraid I was half right.  Obama is a philosopher, but I don't think he has shown the kingly qualities.  If you didn't see the article "What Happened to Obama?" in Sunday's New York Times, do read it.  It is a profoundly interesting piece that expresses extraordinarily well this view of Obama's performance.

Watching Obama's presidency makes the publication of McCormack Fellow Nigel Hamilton's book American Caesars particularly timely.  It was a wonderful part of my summer reading, and it is provocative to be reminded how presidents can lead-FDR, Truman, Johnson, Reagan and even Clinton-as we are trying to understand a President who seems to fight for little or nothing.  I highly recommend the book. Check out his latest interview here.

MGS Accomplishments
Some other summertime excitement:

• Commonwealth Compact received the Urban Empowerment Award by Year Up Boston.
• Our Center for Social Policy was commissioned by the Ford Foundation to document and disseminate the linkages between low-income parents' job quality and youth developmental and education outcomes.

MGS Culture
And finally, I am pleased to report on one of the observations made by Dr. Donna Haig Friedman, Director of the Center for Social Policy, in my annual review with her. She commented that since the school was founded, she thinks all our separate units have developed a trust for the central authority of the Dean's Office, and that we have little or no residue of the "zero sum game," or "if you're winning, I must be losing" culture. As you know, developing a service-focused and collaborative culture, where we all work together for the common good, is one of our greatest goals.  I am proud to be a part of this developing culture.

As I write, the Red Sox are in first place, the NFL strike is settled, it's August and the living is easy (actually, our living is easy.  Let's remember those for whom it ain't easy right now at all.)
 
Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Steve Crosby, Dean