Civil Political Discourse on Campus
Reported by: Natascha Lambing
Illustrated by: Carla Cieza
NEWBERG Ore. – During the 2020 Presidential Election, political chatter prevailed on the George Fox University (GFU) campus. Despite political matters retaining immediate importance and impact, many conversations on campus have shifted back to their normal ebb and flow in the following weeks.
The college campus “bubble” can create spaces where spirits run high and political opinions lead to less than respectful debates. However, projects like The Civility Project intend to break down such barriers and bring healthy political conversation to the community.
Professor of Politics Emeritus Ron Mock taught at GFU through the end of last year. In leaving the full time staff, he created the Civility Project in partnership with GFU President Robin Baker. The project intends to promote stewardship of political culture. Mock said the goal is to “help serve the community around us. [President Baker’s] concern is mostly driven by the state of our national politics which leaks down into local politics. We’re going to be aiming most at a Christian audience.”
The project includes discussion on how the political arena has become ineffective due to inappropriate and unsuccessful discourse between candidates. In the project’s first event on Oct. 5 that outlined many of its goals, it was stated that civility is “treating your opponents well.” Mock notes that the project intends to demonstrate how “the most civil candidates might get a lead...I think people have to be willing to vote against somebody they might otherwise support,” in reference to the level of civility a candidate might exhibit.
In a comment about “the bubble” that students on university campuses sometimes find themselves in, Mock said ‘it has been a constant complaint, at least since my day and probably well before that.
“They talked about the bubble all the time when I was at George Fox . . . that was in 1977 when I graduated. The talk [about the bubble] seems to sound the same, which is kind of a shock to me because the generations are not the same in their abilities to access off campus information. We had news on three channels . . . we didn’t have news pouring in all the time . . . there is a way in which it is more dangerous . . . we can select the media that makes us feel best.”
With access to all types of information and entertainment at the touch of a button, the population might be the most informed they’ve ever been, but as Mock noted, this can be equally dangerous.
Understanding the digital world where information is so readily accessible is difficult as it continually changes. Having a strong grasp on this changing digital landscape is commonly referred to as having digital literacy. The American Library Association (ALA) defines digital literacy as being “able to use diverse technologies appropriately and effectively to search for and retrieve information, interpret search results, and judge the quality of the information retrieved.”
With access to advanced information, we might expect higher levels of interaction with political ideas and a better understanding of political discourse. However, in an article in the American Journal of Political Science, Princeton University professor Markus Prior, says “the optimists claim that the greater availability of political information will lead more people to learn more about politics and increase their involvement in the political process. The pessimists fear that new media will make people apolitical and provide mind‐numbing entertainment that keeps citizens from fulfilling their democratic responsibilities.”
Either case may be true. Supersaturation of information in some and lack of information in others can contribute to the polarization of political discourse, decreasing civility in personal communications as well as on a national political stage. Mock noted in reference to the abundant sources of information “political polarization has been increasing both in the population and amongst politicians for the last generation. [A] steady increase and it’s tied fairly closely to the rise of the internet and that kind of media.”
Mock, currently securing the final touches to the Project, noted that the short term goals of the project include providing resources to “understand and carry out the stewardship of politics,” whether online or in forums and discussions. Two events have already occurred, both of which were recorded and are available for viewing through George Fox Media Services.
As the semester concludes, plans for further events and discussion are in the works. Ultimately, the long term goal of the project is “to motivate and equip Christians to be active and redemptive stewards of political cultures wherever they are found.”