Revive civility
Daniel Gysi and Toni Maurer should be proud of their prize-winning essays on civility and respect, which appeared in the Nov. 13 Observer-Reporter. They are absolutely correct in stating that “this year’s election was touted as one of the worst in our nation’s history.”
That is why our organization, the National Institute for Civil Discourse, led a group of bipartisan national leaders, including former senators, members of Congress, secretaries of state and labor, and prominent journalists in penning a joint statement calling on President-elect Donald Trump and the new Congress to lead with civility and seek compromise upon taking office. Gysi and Maurer join national leaders like former U.S. Sens. Thomas A. Daschle and Olympia J. Snowe, former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, former U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and journalists like Katie Couric in recognizing that civility is essential to our democracy.
We need our new Congress to lead with civility and to seek compromise – to put the country before party in order to confront and resolve our most critical challenges.
To revive civility, we need to speak up. It’s as important for our leaders as it is for everyday citizens and young people like Gysi and Maurer to take up the cause of civility, respect and statesmanship.
Carolyn Lukensmeyer
Washington, D.C.
Lukensmeyer is the executive director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, a non-partisan organization based at the University of Arizona dedicated to promoting healthy and civil political debate.