February Newsletter: Our Common Purpose
By Zachey Kliger | zachey.kliger@gmail.com | February 20, 2023
Between 2018-2020, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences convened a bipartisan commission to study the state of American democracy, and engage with communities across the U.S. to explore how best to respond to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in our political and civic life. The Commission’s two-year effort culminated in 2020 with the release of Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, a report that presents 31 recommendations to make American democracy more resilient. Now, the Academy is partnering with a number of grassroots organizations to advance these reforms, and has set an ambitious goal of implementing all 31 recommendations by 2026, the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
Each month, my team at the Academy produces a newsletter to showcase key developments in the implementation of these 31 recommendations. Below are highlights from February.
Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship Returns to Phoenix, AZ
On February 3, the Our Common Purpose team, co-chairs Eric Liu and Stephen Heintz, and Commission member Steven Olikara spent the day in Phoenix for a series of events with Arizona civic leaders. The day of programming showcased the inspiring work Arizona community leaders and organizations, including Instituto and the Arizona Civics Coalition, are undertaking to build a more resilient civic culture and renew a commitment to constitutional democracy. In 2019, the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship conducted five listening sessions in Phoenix that helped shape the recommendations in Our Common Purpose. The Our Common Purpose team is grateful to the Arizona Civic Life Partnership, the Center for the Future of Arizona, the Flinn Foundation, and the Vitalyst Health Foundation for co-hosting the day’s events.
Learn more about the Commission’s return to Phoenix here.
In the News
WaPo: These radically simple changes helped lawmakers actually get things done
February 9, 2023 – In an opinion essay for The Washington Post, Amanda Ripley examines how the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress has become one of the most high-functioning bipartisan workplaces on Capitol Hill. Last summer, Danielle Allen, co-chair of the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, and Lee Drutman, New America, testified before the Modernization Committee about two recommendations in Our Common Purpose, investing in civic infrastructure and enlarging the House of Representatives.
NYT: Meet the people working on getting us to hate one another less
February 8, 2023 – In his latest New York Times column, Thomas Edsall emphasizes the importance of promoting democratic attitudes and making government more effective to reduce affective polarization and strengthen American democracy. Related solutions in Our Common Purpose include Recommendation 6.4 which calls for promoting “Our Common Purpose” through increased funding for campaigns and narratives that encourage commitment to our constitutional democracy and one another, and Recommendation 3.2 which would implement innovative mechanisms to make congress more responsive.
Danielle Allen: America is in a ‘Great Pulling Apart.’ Can we pull together?
January 31, 2023 – In an op-ed published by The Washington Post, Danielle Allen writes about how her family’s history of civic engagement inspires her belief in America’s constitutional democracy and why it offers the best hope for human flourishing. Danielle writes: “I still believe that constitutional democracy offers the world’s best hope for human flourishing, and that’s why I do this work. I invite you to join me in it.” The piece is the first in a series that will draw from the recommendations in the Our Common Purpose report.
Good to Know
Virtual Webinar: Mapping Civic Measurement
On February 16, the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, an OCP champion, will host “Mapping Civic Measurement: How are we assessing readiness and opportunities for an engaged citizenry?”. This virtual webinar will present findings from a groundbreaking report that introduces a new framework for mapping civic readiness and opportunities .
DATE: February 16, 2023 | 3:00 PM EST | Register here
Virtual Panel: The Power of the Commons
On March 1, Next City and Reimagining the Civic Commons will co-host “The Power of the Commons: Impact and opportunity in America’s public spaces”. This virtual webinar will share game-changing strategies for investing in public spaces in ways that create positive social change. Recommendation 4.1 of Our Common Purpose would create a National Trust to scale social and civic infrastructure.
DATE: March 1, 2023 | 1:00 PM EST | Register here
Thanks for checking out this month’s newsletter!
For more, read the full Our Common Purpose report here. Interested in a hard copy? Order one here.
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