Reflections
Why create a Civility Project?
by Robin Baker, George Fox University President
More than 30 years ago, the eloquent advocate for democratic systems in some former Soviet Bloc states, Vaclav Havel, described the political situation in his own Czech Republic: “Mutual accusations, denunciations, and slander among political opponents know no bounds. One politician will undermine another’s work only because they belong to different political parties. Partisan considerations still visibly take precedence over pragmatic attempts to arrive at reasonable and useful solutions to problems.” When I read that statement in his work entitled Politics, Morality, & Civility it was as if he was discussing the situation in the United States in 2020.
Havel believed that deeply committed Christians, and others who were committed to a moral understanding of all things, were obligated to chart a different course. He rejected the idea that the nature of his society was just the way it was. He argued that moral ends require moral means – “There is only one way to strive for decency, reason, responsibility, civility and tolerance” and that is to be decent, reasoned, responsible, civil and tolerant. A deeply committed follower of God, Havel called his culture to develop a political system that is characterized by civility and hospitality.
November 19 was the 157th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. In this classic speech, Abraham Lincoln described the Civil War as a test of whether a “nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal… can long endure.” Lincoln closed by exhorting Americans to increase their devotion to the cause of ensuring “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
The cause of human equality and democratic self-government is still worth our devotion. America is not in a second civil war, but our uncivil politics have polarized us to a degree not seen since the antebellum political order collapsed in the first one.
I believe that America's political order is coming apart again. More and more we dehumanize our political opponents and treat them as evil enemies rather than fellow citizens. How can George Fox University -- committed to following Christ, and devoted to equality, justice, and democratic self-government -- stand on the sidelines and watch this happen? We cannot. To the extent that we are able, we need to invest in furthering the moral ends of our system by investing in people who will lead differently.
Last summer this was on my mind when Ron Mock asked to meet with me. We had just announced cuts to our faculty and staff driven by COVID-related financial stresses. We lost valuable employees – people who did not deserve to lose their jobs. It was very painful for us and for them.
After 35 years of devoted service to George Fox, Ron was one of those we lost.
Ron did not ask to see me to complain. He wanted to know if there was some way he could help the University, now that he had time on his hands. I told him about my concerns about incivility in our public life. Over the next few weeks we exchanged ideas, and in September Ron volunteered to put on two civility-themed events before the election.
With help from several others on campus, Ron hosted our first Civility Project events. On October 5th he articulated our duty to care for our political culture as part of Christian stewardship of God’s providence. And on October 19th he used a debate between two GF professors to begin developing a tool for holding politicians accountable for their incivility.
Now we have arranged for Ron to continue the Civility Project through the rest of the 2020-21 academic year, and set it up to be ongoing thereafter if the way is open.
I encourage you to explore what we already have on this Civility Project website, including the goals we have committed to reach by the summer of 2021, and our vision for the longer term. Ron will be adding new content every week. Please come back often to check on how we are progressing. You can sign up to receive email updates here. Please pray for America, George Fox University, and our Civility Project.