The Civic Discourse Project: ‘Citizenship and the Media’

Two journalists visited Arizona State University’s Tempe campus to participate in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership’s Civic Discourse Project, “Citizenship and the Media: A Responsibility to Promote Civic Literacy.”

New York Times columnist David Leonhardt and Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review and American Enterprise Institute discuss the concept of political parties and the meaning of getting news in this day and age. Leonhardt and Ponnuru agree that it’s important to disagree: in their view, discourse and compromise were fundamental to the founding of the United States. But while arguments can be good, the amount of political polarization stems from a lack of understanding from both sides.

Some of these threads stretch forward to our contemporary context, while others connect us profoundly to American founding principles.

The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership provides an indispensable forum for the school to include historical and contemporary conversations about politics in American society within the framework of civic discourse that inspires all of our public programs.

MORE: Read about the latest season of The Civic Discourse Project or see all this season’s episodes.