Put Civics Back in the Classroom, Right Now
Has there ever been a better time to resume lapsed efforts to teach young Americans the structure and purpose of U.S. democracy?
Remind us: How does a bill become law?
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergThe presidential election seemed to mark a revival in American civic engagement. A record two-thirds of the electorate voted. Candidates raised at least $3 billion in small-dollar donations, and historic get-out-the-vote efforts had an impact in Nevada, Georgia and elsewhere.
Yet large numbers of Americans appear to believe President Donald Trump’s baseless charges of election fraud. Civic life and discourse have been eroded by the normalization of lying by elected leaders, the dissemination of disinformation via social media and the attempted weaponization of the courts to undermine confidence in voting.