Civic Series Part 2: Skills for Democracy

We fight for lost causes not because we always think we are gonna win, but because someone needs to keep the battle going.

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Election season always brings to light important civic topics and this year, big questions.  Is voter fraud a real threat?  Is the voting system still reliable?  Will we know the election results on election night?  How do we know what information to trust?  And, perhaps even more importantly, how can we better improve citizen engagement and expand civic education?  This week we tackle these questions in a conversation with Professor David Schultz, a Political Science and Law professor at Hamline University in Minnesota.  He is a nationally and internationally sought-after expert on civics and government topics. He authored many books, legal treatises, and articles on topics including election law, eminent domain, law, public policy, legal and political theory, and the media and politics. In our conversation we:

• Hear about how Professor Schultz developed a passion for voting, public affairs and civics at a young age 
• Discuss the importance of civic education in supporting citizens to engage with the government to make change
• Highlight the importance of good listening skills in our noisy democracy 
• Hear David’s thoughts on the importance of media literacy and citizens discerning between good and bad information 
• Discuss how important it is for citizens to get out of our bubbles and try to talk to others
• Learn about the importance of starting discussions with a little bit of healthy doubt
• Understand an effective way to share what you believe by highlighting the reasons ‘why’ we have those beliefs
• Hear David’s thoughts on the integrity and reliability of US elections and the checks and balances in the US voting system 
• Understand when we can expect to know election results
• Discuss the importance of civic education, citizen engagement and why getting involved, citizens can make a difference

In this episode we reference: 

Schultz's Take Blog

Strong Democracy by Benjamin Barber