As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, we at Civity share with many others a deep concern about the health of our democracy. We value a rule of law that applies the same to everyone. We are worried about people losing trust in our institutions—and also want those institutions to deserve our trust. We yearn for free and fair elections where all voices are heard.
In a healthy democracy, the government serves the people … all the people.
But we see that, in this country today, there are people who are being left out. And we know that this exclusion is intentional. Whether they are immigrants, black and brown people, Muslims, poor people, or just people who are vulnerable, they have one thing in common. They can be—and are being—dehumanized.
Dehumanizing people who are vulnerable has long been a successful divide-and-conquer tactic. This “Us versus Them” strategy leads one group to fear another so that the “Us” group turns away from governmental policies that support everyone.
This strategy works. At least it works when the “Us” and “Them” groups don’t know each other and lack opportunities to grow the bridging relationships that help people envision a larger “We.” In order to really fix our democracy 250 years after our founding, we need to go to the heart. We need to directly address the “Us versus Them” dynamic in our society.
Palma and I started Civity over a decade ago to counter “Us versus Them” by helping people see and hear each other—especially across differences such as race, religion, socioeconomic status, geography and politics that keep communities from pulling together. Rooted in contact theory—and reaffirmed by the Stanford Strengthening Democracy Challenge megastudy—our work builds understanding and social trust. We call this “We All Belong” culture “civity.”
When people say to each other, “I see you. You are a person. You are my neighbor. You are in my community,” they grow the relational infrastructure that is at the core of community well-being. A robust web of cross-cutting relationships makes for more engagement in civic life, more effective responses to difficult issues, and yes, a strong and healthy democracy.
Civity accelerates the building of relational infrastructure in communities by working with civic and organizational leaders. We provide these leaders with the capacity and skills to infuse relationship- and trust-building into their own work—and also into the groups they are working with. We also offer them a civity story of possibility and collaboration to counter fear-based stories of division. Change ripples out.
We recognize that we are all part of a system: It is the people in communities who grow relational infrastructure and create culture. Identifying and working with leaders who have connections, influence, and dense social networks maximizes the effects of our work with individuals and makes culture change more sustainable.
I see you. You are a person. You are my neighbor. You are in my community.
Connecting with someone who is different—using our heart as well as our head—is a power available to each of us. Let’s use that power to ensure a democracy that works for everyone.