Rebuilding a Pipeline of Good Citizenship

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Michael R. Ford
March 28, 2025

It is election season here in Wisconsin and I am continuously amazed at how divided we are as a society. While some of these divisions play out in public discussions in person, the real vitriol is reserved for the virtual world. I struggle to understand the things that people say, and assume, about total strangers. However, seeing the divisions and incivility play out at the local level tracks with the tenor of our national discourse.

How do we collectively navigate our deep societal divisions and restore some semblance of belief in the common good? While the idea of the common good has always been nebulous, a commitment to democratic values and the ideals of an open society has allowed the United States to prosper despite our many contradictions. This is not to suggest the American experiment in self-government has been perfect. It has always been clumsy and not always inclusive. But the core idea felt solid.

But that solid ground is shifting. Winning has supplanted governing as the goal of politics. Foundational constitutional concepts around free speech and citizenship are being openly challenged. Citizens, especially younger ones, are disengaged. I could speculate as to how we got here, and no doubt the COVID-19 disruption fundamentally changed the tenor of our politics and culture, but I am more concerned with answering the question I posed. To be blunt, restoring belief in the common good requires us teaching and embracing what it means to be a citizen again.

Citizenship is an interesting word. On the surface, being a citizen of any country is just a factual status. But being a citizen in a democracy signifies ownership and responsibility. Self-governance does not work if people do not engage in the work of governing. That includes voting of course, but also paying attention, participating in civil society, understanding institutions and gaining a working knowledge of our foundational documents and constitutional norms. Unfortunately, the meaning of democracy is being reduced to the concept of winner-take-all elections, and nothing else. Once again, this plays into a dynamic where civics and citizenship are transactional ideas used for the pursuit of power as opposed to common ideals guiding progress, stability and belonging in a pluralistic society.

There is now a pressing need for a renewed citizenship pipeline that fosters the skills and experience required for self-government. It begins in K-12 education. While there are often stand-alone civics requirements that teach students the history of the United States and the basics of our founding documents, there is a need for more practical knowledge of how to be a democratic citizen. Skills around practicing civil dialogue, for example, can be imbedded into curriculum across subjects.

We can and must teach the basics of free speech and free expression so students know their rights, but we also must teach the skills to use those rights constructively. There can be no democracy without free speech protections, but the marketplace of ideas functions much more productively with the lubricant of civil dialogue. Similarly, on campus, academic freedom must be protected, but we also must understand that academic freedom is a tool that enables viewpoint diversity to thrive. In other words, our students, from K-12 to college, must have knowledge, but also the practical tools to use that knowledge to engage productively in our democracy.

Inevitably a commitment to concepts like free speech and expression can be uncomfortable, particularly for students who may be exposed to diverse views for the first time in their lives. Though those of us on campus can also look in the mirror and recognize that we too need to be uncomfortable at times. We can teach the tools for civil dialogue but also must protect dialogue that is not so civil. We must defend the right of speech with which we agree and disagree.

In our communities we can have government institutions commit to institutional neutrality in areas that stretch beyond their mission. The nationalization of local governing bodies can be thoughtfully reversed so that local government is focused on solving local problems in ways that can build public trust.

Make no mistake, rebuilding a citizenship pipeline is a generational endeavor. But, it is one that we in higher education and the broader public administration community are poised to tackle. After all, the good governance tools we teach and practice only work with the confidence, trust and participation of those we serve. And if we do not work to rebuild this pipeline, who will?  

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Author: Michael R. Ford is the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue at the Universities of Wisconsin. He frequently publishes on the topics of public and nonprofit board governance, accountability and education policy. He served two terms as an elected member of the Oshkosh, WI Common Council.  

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