-PDF Download- Civility And Democracy In America EBOOK

Civility and Democracy in America

Author: Cornell W. Clayton

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780874223125

Although many Americans prefer intelligent debate and reasoned arguments, today's political arena is rife with negative personal attacks, outrageous character assassinations, and even violence. Yet incivility has existed in various forms throughout history, often preceding positive change. In March 2011, Washington State University hosted one of four national conferences on the role of civility in American democracy. Leading scholars from a variety of disciplines focused on five distinct perspectives: history, religion, philosophy, art and architecture, and media. Comprised of more than twenty papers presented at that meeting, Civility and Democracy in America examines the meaning of civility and disseminates the insight of these seasoned experts.

Civility and Democracy in America

Author: Richard Elgar

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781636820958

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Rude Democracy

Author: Susan Herbst

Publisher: Temple University Press

Published: 2010-08-20

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1439903379

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

How American politics can become more civil and amenable to public policy solutions, while still allowing for effective argument.

Scandal and Civility

Author: Marcus Daniel

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-01-23

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0199721440

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A new breed of journalists came to the fore in post-revolutionary America--fiercely partisan, highly ideological, and possessed of a bold sense of vocation and purpose as they entered the fray of political debate. Often condemned by latter-day historians and widely seen in their own time as a threat to public and personal civility, these colorful figures emerge in this provocative new book as the era's most important agents of political democracy. Through incisive portraits of the most influential journalists of the 1790s--William Cobbett, Benjamin Franklin Bache, Philip Freneau, Noah Webster, John Fenno, and William Duane--Scandal and Civility moves beyond the usual cast of "revolutionary brothers" and "founding fathers" to offer a fresh perspective on a seemingly familiar story. Marcus Daniel demonstrates how partisan journalists, both Federalist and Democratic-Republican, were instrumental in igniting and expanding vital debates over the character of political leaders, the nature of representative government, and, ultimately, the role of the free press itself. Their rejection of civility and self-restraint--not even icons like George Washington were spared their satirical skewerings--earned these men the label "peddlers of scurrility." Yet, as Daniel shows, by breaking with earlier conceptions of "impartial" journalism, they challenged the elite dominance of political discourse and helped fuel the enormous political creativity of the early republic. Daniel's nuanced and penetrating narrative captures this key period of American history in all its contentious complexity. And in today's climate, when many decry media "excesses" and the relentlessly partisan and personal character of political debate, his book is a timely reminder that discord and difference were essential to the very creation of our political culture.

Against Civility

Author: Alex Zamalin

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2021-02-02

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 0807026549

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The first history of racial injustice to examine how civility and white supremacy are linked, and a call for citizens who care about social justice to abandon civility and practice civic radicalism The idea and practice of civility has always been wielded to silence dissent, repress political participation, and justify violence upon people of color. Although many progressives today are told that we need to be more polite and thoughtful, less rancorous and angry, when we talk about race in America, civility maintains rather than disrupts racial injustice. Spanning two hundred years, Zamalin’s accessible blend of intellectual history, political biography, and contemporary political criticism shows that civility has never been neutral in its political uses and impacts. The best way to tackle racial inequality is through “civic radicalism,” an alternative to civility found in the actions of Black radical leaders including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and Audre Lorde. Civic radicals shock and provoke people. They name injustice and who is responsible for it. They protest, march, strike, boycott, and mobilize collectively rather than form alliances with those who fundamentally oppose them. In Against Civility, citizens who care deeply about racial and socioeconomic equality will see that they need to abandon this concept of discreet politeness when it comes to racial justice and instead more fully support disruptive actions and calls for liberation, which have already begun with movements like #MeToo, the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, and Black Lives Matter.

Civility

Author: Stephen Carter

Publisher:

Published: 1998-04-10

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The author of "Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby" and "The Culture of Disbelief" proves that manners matter to the future of America. Not an exercise in abstract philosophizing, this book delivers an agenda for the practical implementation of civility in contemporary life.

A Crisis of Civility?

Author: Robert G. Boatright

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-02-18

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1351051962

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The state of political discourse in the United States today has been a subject of concern for many Americans. Political incivility is not merely a problem for political elites; political conversations between American citizens have also become more difficult and tense. The 2016 presidential elections featured campaign rhetoric designed to inflame the general public. Yet the 2016 election was certainly not the only cause of incivility among citizens. There have been many instances in recent years where reasoned discourse in our universities and other public venues has been threatened. This book was undertaken as a response to these problems. It presents and develops a more robust discussion of what civility is, why it matters, what factors might contribute to it, and what its consequences are for democratic life. The authors included here pursue three major questions: Is the state of American political discourse today really that bad, compared to prior eras; what lessons about civility can we draw from the 2016 election; and how have changes in technology such as the development of online news and other means of mediated communication changed the nature of our discourse? This book seeks to develop a coherent, civil conversation between divergent contemporary perspectives in political science, communications, history, sociology, and philosophy. This multidisciplinary approach helps to reflect on challenges to civil discourse, define civility, and identify its consequences for democratic life in a digital age. In this accessible text, an all-star cast of contributors tills the earth in which future discussion on civility will be planted.

How to Fix America

Author: Phillip A. Barlag

Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

Published: 2012-09-23

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 9781479377534

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Dissatisfaction with the American government is at an all-time high. There are lots of good ideas on policy changes that could make a measurable impact. But these all overlook one crucial fact: America has lost the structural ability to consistently deliver effective policy because of the decay in the system itself. Bad government can't be counted on to pass good laws. For all the great ideas and debate on issues like health care, immigration, taxes, defense, foreign policy and climate change, it's the system itself that needs rehabilitation. In 'How to Fix America, ' Phillip A. Barlag proposes a simple and elegant solution to modify the system from within. It's innovation, not revolution, that's required to take the best of the American system of government and build on a foundation that was laid with the ratification of the Constitution 225 years ago. In this neutral and balanced book, Barlag offers a radical call to moderation and civility, and offers an innovative but pragmatic way to reconnect elected officials with the people they are supposed to serve. For anyone interested in politics, American history or current affairs, this fast-paced book is a can't-miss.

Disrespectful Democracy

Author: Emily Sydnor

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2019-10-08

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 0231548257

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The majority of Americans think that politics has an “incivility problem” and that this problem is only getting worse. Research demonstrates that negativity and rudeness in politics have been increasing for decades. But how does this tide of impolite-to-outrageous language affect our reactions to media coverage and our political behavior? Disrespectful Democracy offers a new account of the relationship between incivility and political behavior based on a key individual predisposition—conflict orientation. Individuals experience conflict in different ways; some enjoy arguments while others are uncomfortable and avoid confrontation. Drawing on a range of original surveys and experiments, Emily Sydnor contends that the rise of incivility in political media has transformed political involvement. Citizens now need to be able to tolerate or even welcome incivility in the public sphere in order to participate in the democratic process. Yet individuals who are turned off by incivility are not brought back in by civil presentation of issues. Sydnor considers the challenges in evaluating incivility’s normative benefits and harms to the political system: despite some detrimental aspects, certain levels of incivility in certain venues can promote political engagement, and confrontational behavior can be a vital tool in the citizen’s democratic arsenal. A rigorous and empirically informed analysis of political rhetoric and behavior, Disrespectful Democracy also proposes strategies to engage citizens across the range of conflict orientations.

Beyond Civility

Author: William Keith

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2020-06-03

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0271088591

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

From the pundits to the polls, nearly everyone seems to agree that US politics have rarely been more fractious, and calls for a return to “civil discourse” abound. Yet it is also true that the requirements of polite discourse effectively silence those who are not in power, gaming the system against the disenfranchised. What, then, should a democracy do? This book makes a case for understanding civility in a different light. Examining the history of the concept and its basis in communication and political theory, William Keith and Robert Danisch present a clear, robust analysis of civil discourse. Distinguishing it from politeness, they claim that civil argument must be redirected from the goal of political comity to that of building and maintaining relationships of minimal respect in the public sphere. They also take into account how civility enables discrimination, indicating conditions under which uncivil resistance is called for. When viewed as a communication practice for uniting people with differences and making them more equal, civility is transformed from a preferable way of speaking into an essential component of democratic life. Guarding against uncritical endorsement of civility as well as skepticism, Keith and Danisch show with rigor, nuance, and care that the practice of civil communication is both paradoxical and sorely needed. Beyond Civility is necessary reading for our times.