Eight years ago, after the 2016 General Election, a curtain descended in the public square, The bitter divide was palpable around watercoolers in the workplace, in neighborhoods, and at family dinner tables on Thanksgiving.
People had a hard time coming together as colleagues, neighbors and families because of who the other guy voted for. We pulled ourselves into tribal groups and siloed ourselves into them and us. The animosity festered for four years and boiled over during the 2020 election and its aftermath.
Many people placed blame on the role of the media in stirring the pot. There were charges of fake news and people circled the wagons to listen to or read news that confirmed their biases of which side was right and which side was wrong.
The media have an important role in presenting news without bias so people can make informed decisions about their community and their country. One of the most important cornerstones of journalism is transparency and an independent press – whether printed on paper or in pixels digitally – is essential to the functioning of democracy.
The Estes Valley Voice would like to propose a civility initiative for the Estes Valley community. This initiative is about mindfulness and self-accountability.
We are 50 days out from election day. Over the next seven weeks, we will publish a collection of articles focusing on civility in politics, at work, at the grocery store, in traffic and on the road, on social media, across the back fence, and over the dinner table.
We would like to challenge the members of the community to take the Civility in the Estes Valley Begins with Me pledge which is modified from a civility pledge the Colorado Municipal League asked members of the Town Board to sign this summer. We set a goal of having 10% of the adults in the Estes Valley, about 1,000 people, sign the pledge.
We are applying for a grant from the Colorado Media Project to help fund several activities around this initiative. We want to distribute lapel buttons that read “Civility in the Estes Valley Begins with Me” that people can display over the next few weeks as we draw closer to election day. We hope it will encourage mindfulness about what does civility mean and how do we practice and foster it in ourselves?
We would like to encourage people to read “The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves” by Alexandra Hudson. For those who enjoy reading about history, civics, and the humanities, this book is a treasure. The Estes Valley Voice will be providing a few copies to the Estes Valley Library. We have reached out to the author to see if she has any availability to do a Zoom call with members of the community.
We talked this past week with filmmaker Don Colacino about bringing his film “Trusted Sources” to Estes Park for a screening with a panel discussion to debrief the film. The organization Rebuild Local News says the documentary “casts a critical spotlight on the local news crisis, highlighting the pervasive distrust undermining the credibility of news media, the surge of polarization, and the rampant spread of disinformation. It also examines the alarming trend of local newsrooms shuttering, exacerbating the crisis. This documentary underscores the essential function of a free and independent press as the lifeblood of our democracy, affirming that local journalism is vital to the civic health of our communities.”
Let’s talk about civility, what it is and what it is not. Let’s talk about the role of civility in a democracy, and what the boundaries of civility are when it is necessary to rise up against injustice with acts of civil disobedience. The United States was born through revolution, but it was formed by people who believed in the principles of civility. What are those principles?
As one of the community’s local newsrooms, the Estes Valley Voice takes the role of journalism seriously. We believe that journalism is a public good. The Estes Valley Voice is organized as a public benefit corporation and that means we will promote initiatives that seek to strengthen our community through accurate news reporting, public engagement, and civic dialogue.
If you are interested in taking the Civility in the Estes Valley Begins with Me pledge, please click here. If you want to distribute the pledge to your network of neighbors, friends, or family members, please do. If you would like to promote this initiative with your civic or social group, please do. Our hopes is that we can get 1,000 people—about 10% of the adults in the Estes Valley—to sign on. If your book club or breakfast group decides to read and talk about the book The Soul of Civility, let us know. And watch for details about the film.
Let’s have a more informed and more civil election cycle. Let’s find ways to learn from people we do not necessarily agree with politically in order to strengthen bonds of community and collegiality.
And at the end of the day, civility begins with me.