In June 2020, the the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship published its landmark report, Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century, with recommendations concerning many aspects of politics and civic life. The AAA&S has continued to develop and promote the strategies of that document. Some of this work has been conducted by a Civic Culture Working Group, to which I belong. And yesterday, this Working Group released its report, entitled Habits of Hearts and Mind: How to Fortify Civic Culture.
The report defines “civic culture” as “the set of norms, values, narratives, habits, and rituals that shape how we live together and govern ourselves in our diverse democratic society.”
“Culture” can be a vague term applied to elusive aspects of groups or organizations–or even a way of avoiding sharper analysis. What we cannot explain, sometimes we call “culture.” But I believe this report avoids that trap by offering vivid examples of organizations that enhance civic culture, thus communicating a relatively tangible sense of what the phrase means.
For instance, Lincoln Center “held a group wedding for seven hundred couples with backgrounds and traditions as diverse as New York.” More than 100 “bikers with Black Bikers Vote joined When We All Vote for a motorcycle ride that stopped by drop boxes and polling places in Philadelphia. The community ride ended with a party featuring food, music, and entertainment to celebrate the West Philadelphia community voting together.”
The report derives eight principles from these examples, without presuming that there can be one model for fortifying civic culture. It uses a culinary metaphor: “This publication is a sampler of ingredients and recipes for creating a healthy civic culture. The aim is not to provide a generic formula or one-size-fits-all approach. We highlight nourishing recipes and methods that we enjoy and that can be enriching. And we encourage you to cook something up with your own unique blend of ingredients.”
The report discusses these eight major categories of “ingredients”:
- Practice Civic Love and Joy
- Promote Habits of Service
- Create Space for Free Exchange of Ideas and
- Model Being Unafraid
- Engage People in Codesign and Decision-Making
- Practice Mutualism and Mutual Aid
- Spread Narratives of Common Purpose
- Root Activity in Shared Place
The “recipes” are various programs and projects that use these principles to enrich civic culture.
I would recommend the report to anyone who is concerned about civic culture. It would make a good reading assignment in high school or college. But above all, it should be a useful cookbook for people who lead or work in all kinds of organizations that have the potential to fortify civic life in the USA. Often, these organizations have other missions. For example, Lincoln Center is a major venue for performing arts. But they can contribute to civic life by implementing their programs in the ways this report recommends.