Questions of Civic Proportions delivers questions, ideas, and good work from a political life worth sharing.
It’s a power-up for the civic-minded.
Each newsletter is a small act of thinking together, delivered twice a month, that transforms the endless scroll of headlines into questions aligned to American political thought and constitutional thinking.
We believe public dialogue is a civic duty but you need good questions. It’s not talking politics. It’s sharing what we can learn about political life.
With our Questions of Civic Proportions Newsletter, you’ll always have good questions.
Questions of Civic Proportions are questions that deserve your time. Let’s make it easier to start thinking together.
"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers."
—VoltaireOur Latest Questions
Questions of Civic Proportions: Why does it matter if we find the right words for this?
We’re all asking one another, “how are you holding up?” The standard response usually starts with a deep breath and includes some bad joke.
We’re looking for a new approach to our standard greetings. The usual ones don’t seem to do enough to recognize that we’re all keeping a safe distance from one another.
Questions of Civic Proportions: Are We All Going to Get This?
This is a moment when we need everyone to get it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta told late-night host Stephen Colbert that he thought we were. People are starting to get this, Gupta said, "I have an obligation now, not just for my health, my family's health, but for your health and...
Questions of Civic Proportions: What will be the fight of your life?
Big announcements of Democratic candidates dropping out of the 2020 presidential race have shaped the news this week. While the media has talked for some time about a contest that quickly excluded candidates of color, Elizabeth Warren was the last woman standing until...
Questions of Civic Proportions: Can we avoid the dead end of despair?
I want to share a call to arms: "Less despair. More repair." So says Austin Kleon, a local artist and writer here in Austin, Texas. His most recent book Keep Going wants readers to persist in their creative pursuits. I'm borrowing this call for resolve in the...
Questions of Civic Proportions: What’s the danger in being dangerously uninformed?
By now, you've heard discussion of the latest book about the Trump presidency. You've undoubtedly heard one of its key phrases, "dangerously uninformed." But is any of this news? We have long documented just how comfortably uninformed the American public is. Last...
Questions of Civic Proportions for January 12, 2020
It's that time of year again. It might be unique to election years. Let's all join hands or shake our fists or whatever it is you do when we join together to call for better civics. Our country is falling apart, y'all. If only there were an army of civic educators who...
Questions of Civic Proportions: Why does it matter if we find the right words for this?
We’re all asking one another, “how are you holding up?” The standard response usually starts with a deep breath and includes some bad joke.
We’re looking for a new approach to our standard greetings. The usual ones don’t seem to do enough to recognize that we’re all keeping a safe distance from one another.
Questions of Civic Proportions: Are We All Going to Get This?
This is a moment when we need everyone to get it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta told late-night host Stephen Colbert that he thought we were. People are starting to get this, Gupta said, "I have an obligation now, not just for my health, my family's health, but for your health and...
Questions of Civic Proportions: What will be the fight of your life?
Big announcements of Democratic candidates dropping out of the 2020 presidential race have shaped the news this week. While the media has talked for some time about a contest that quickly excluded candidates of color, Elizabeth Warren was the last woman standing until...
Questions of Civic Proportions: Can we avoid the dead end of despair?
I want to share a call to arms: "Less despair. More repair." So says Austin Kleon, a local artist and writer here in Austin, Texas. His most recent book Keep Going wants readers to persist in their creative pursuits. I'm borrowing this call for resolve in the...
Questions of Civic Proportions: What’s the danger in being dangerously uninformed?
By now, you've heard discussion of the latest book about the Trump presidency. You've undoubtedly heard one of its key phrases, "dangerously uninformed." But is any of this news? We have long documented just how comfortably uninformed the American public is. Last...
Questions of Civic Proportions for January 12, 2020
It's that time of year again. It might be unique to election years. Let's all join hands or shake our fists or whatever it is you do when we join together to call for better civics. Our country is falling apart, y'all. If only there were an army of civic educators who...
Top Issues from 2019
Did You See the Magic at your Thanksgiving Gathering? It’s the Cure for Loneliness.
When a big holiday meal goes well, we all start to see the magic in a hundred small things.
Perhaps your holiday crew avoided political confrontations this year. Or you palyed board games without someone getting their feelings hurt…
Read more
Is Democracy a Call-to-Arms or Something Else?
Leoanrd Cohen kept coming at me this week. I’m not his biggest fan, but I’ve figured out that he has something to teach us, something that’s important to hear right now.
Read more
What Can We Learn from Thinking in Time, Even for Just a Minute?
I haven’t been able to get my bearings on events in northern Syria this week. There’s a book I keep within reach for moments like these. One of the most pragmatic skills of all lies in the study of history and politics.
Read more
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Robert Putnam blamed television and urban sprawl. When we spend our time commuting or binge-watching, we don’t have time to talk to our neighbors. While most of us know some of our neighbors, few of us interact with them in any meaningful way.
Read more
What can we learn from those questions that keep calling us back to them?
We mark a new school year in countless ways… In some of those distant places, we remember a question or an assignment that opened up our mind to discovering something new. The best questions make a lasting impression.
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Time to start telling the truth about the hardest work of democratic life
When you step into the arena, you risk everything. No one can tell you what happens next. The work of leading a cause requires a resilience that doesn’t get much air time.