Civility tempers and elevates the interactions between citizens, whether or not those citizens are public leaders. Civility begins with recognizing our shared humanity. It starts with seeing that we are more alike than unlike, and viewing our difference in light of our likeness. It starts in small ways, sowing seeds of the friendship and trust that ensure our civitas survives.

Deliberative democracy depends on the premise that people of goodwill can negotiate differences and work together in a productive way through rational—and civil—debate. Civility builds an active willingness to listen to others, to consider their point of view alongside our own, and to evaluate varying conceptions of “the good.” The civil citizen accepts that others have genuinely held moral positions, and that reasonable minds can disagree. These traits are equally essential for all positions along the political spectrum, and for our democracy, public leaders, and citizens alike.

~ Alexandra Hudson, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, St. Martin’s Publishing Group, New York, USA, 2023, p. 257.

ALEXANDRA HUDSON is a writer, storyteller, and the founder of Civic Renaissance, a publication and intellectual community dedicated to reviving the wisdom of the past to help us lead richer lives in the present. She was named a 2019 Novak Journalism Fellow, and she contributes to Fox News, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time magazine, Politico magazine, and Newsweek. Her TV series, Storytelling and the Human Condition, was produced with The Great Courses and is available for streaming on Wondrium and Audible. Hudson earned a master’s degree in public policy at the London School of Economics as a Rotary Scholar. An adjunct professor at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, she lives in Indianapolis with her husband and children.