Earlier generations of Minnesotans pioneered in what were then revolutionary ideas of productive citizenship such as free public libraries, rural self-education efforts, and public parks open to all. These greatly nourished the civic traditions and culture of the state. We need similar boldness and adventurousness now, to sustain and create a forward looking civic culture adequate to the great challenges of the 21st century. Here are two ideas:

Cultural Change from Me to We: A Campaign to Celebrate our Public Stories of Civic Life
By communicating widely across the state some of the myriad and vital but often invisible stories of civic renewal and productive citizenship, others can gain a sense of hope and possibility. (FIX)

The Hmong Freedom festival:
Each July, the Hmong Freedom Celebration brings tens of thousands of new immigrants and their native born American friends together for three days in a huge public park in St. Paul. Dozens of soccer teams play round the clock. The smells of Hmong cooking fill the air. Extended families gather for conversation, story-telling, and celebrations. Children play traditional Hmong games with cousins, alternating with American style games, showing off their twittering skills at the same time. Adults spend much of their time in discussion key social and political issues facing the Hmong community, sometimes coming to decisions. Minnesota state senator Mee Moua, the first Hmong state senator in the US, seems to be everywhere, in the midst of discussions, responding to concerns, voicing her views. The entire event is dedicated to the concept of “freedom,” at the heart of Hmong culture, a value they bring to the American Fourth of July.

North House Folk School:
Driving out of Grand Marais, a town near the Canadian border on the North Shore of Lake Superior, one sees a sign for North House Folk School, founded in 1997 by Jim Hanson, a local boat maker. But boat making was just the beginning. The school now spreads out along the shore, across from the light house. In one building, boats hang from the ceiling, over machine tools. A shop is full of local products and books. In a large building across the parking lot, students learn to make boats in courses. Their catalogue describes their philosophy:

Since its beginning, North House has aspired to offer a valuable alternative to the ‘high tech, low touch’ world of today. North House’s vision is different and has untold value – ‘high touch, low tech’ – North House’s success is testament to the importance of our unique educational mission: Foster hands on learning in a student centered environment; Nurture a sense of place by connecting the the present and the past; Create a non-competitive setting where learning is valued for its own sake; Celebrate the cultures of the North through the exploration of traditional crafts; Build community, serve community, engage the hands, the heart, and the mind.

The learning at the North House Folk School is inspired by the Scandinavian “folkehøjskole” where learning is valued for its own sake and students take a great deal of responsibility for their learning. The focus is on traditional methods and technologies and on a cooperative, student-centered learning approach. North House has grown to more than 250 courses on all manner of crafts – basketry, clothing, music, photography, painting, jewelry, fiber arts, knitting, food, northern ecology, timber framing, tool making, wood carving and others, with more than 135 teachers. And it has become a civic center throughout Northern Minnesota aimed at sparking regional development.

Stories like these are only a sampling of the myriad of stories of vibrant civic life in Minnesota. The challenge is how to spread the word.

Alexis de Tocqueville, the great French observer of American democracy, described the knowledge of how to work together as “the mother of all knowledge in democratic countries.” But here is the difficulty: “Yes we can” is inspiring, but today most people don’t normally work with others very different than themselves on community or public problems and often think that few examples exist. A variety of studies show widespread discouragement and feelings of powerlessness about collaborative work across differences to solve problems. [12] How can we revive a sense of civic efficacy in addressing our common challenges”?

One important finding of the national Civic Health Index points to the importance of widely communicating stories about civic traditions and current practices. Knowledge of the existence of a civic tradition turns out to be a powerful predictor of civic engagement. People who know that there is a civic tradition are much more likely to be civically involved. This fits with the house meetings and soundings on civic life and civic values, which have found the state, like the broader society, is increasingly developing a “Me First” culture. It also points toward an important communications strategy for civic renewal if we are to see a cultural shift from “me to we.”

In 2005 the Minnesota Community Project, created by former vice president Walter Mondale at the Humphrey Institute, noted disturbing trends such as “divisions into increasingly irreconcilable [political] camps . . . deep skepticism about public institutions, and strong disagreements on their role,” as well as a sense of declining community as people no longer know their neighbors, suburban fears of increasing immigration, and worry about the
state of public schools. [13]

Against this background, the Center for Democracy and Citizenship joined with partners across Minnesota to solicit views from Minnesotans about what civic and community values are important, what people perceive as threats to community, and what can be done to address the problems and to strengthen our community life. Several thousand Minnesotans participated in house meetings, small group sessions usually held in a home or similar informal setting in 2006 and 2007.

Many participants mentioned issues regularly discussed in conventional politics—schools, abortion, taxes, race relations, growing income divides, the war in Iraq. But probing for civic values and threats to them also revealed other subjects not so often discussed. People expressed a good deal of anxiety, even fear, that Minnesota’s civic culture is endangered. Many voiced the view that a sense of community is eroding. “People in cars don’t make eye contact any more in my neighborhood,” said one suburban doctor. “I drive into my carport and shut the door, and never talk to my neighbors. It’s a culture of me, me, me.” Students commonly worried about the erosion of relationships. “We’ve lost face to face human contact. Everyone walks around in their own little iPod world, wired up but tuned out,” said Amy Jo Pierce, a student leader at the University of Minnesota. Many feel they live in “bubble cultures,” worsened by the way the society pigeonholes people. “When I tell people I’m a Marine and a Christian and a former athlete, they assume my politics,” said Blake Hogan, another student at Minnesota. People make false assumptions.” [14]

Participants in the discussions also identified destructive trends in the mass culture. “Parents in my classes say, in regard to most any topic, ‘I’ve tried fighting society,’” said Sally Wiley, a parent educator with Minnesota Early Childhood Family Education. She is a leader in an nitiative, Community Based Parent Education, designed to uncover and involve young parents in “the public sides of parenting issues.” Wiley described typical remarks: “I made my own babyhood, I breastfed, I didn’t let my children watch television. For the first two years I fought: fought my family, my friends, ads in the media. I turned off televisions whenever and wherever I could if we were in the room. Now I’m tired and my kids are being influenced by those things I detest: fast food, ‘have it your way,’ television programming created as ads to sell products, cross-marketed everything. They are being influenced and I realize I don’t have a choice in it.” [15]

A number of people expressed concerns about excessive consumerism and materialism. “I don’t like how children are growing up these days in the consumer culture,” said a college student at the Jane Addams School for Democracy who participates in what is called the East African Circle, with East African immigrants. “My family says they can see a big difference between me and my little sister,” said a Somali college student in the group. “I grew up in East Africa, and am more oriented to my family and my community. What my little sister cares about is shopping.” [16]

In a house meeting with state legislators, Peg Chemberlin, formerly the executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, said that this dynamic is visible across the state in the religious communities. “Increasingly congregants think of themselves as consumers of church, not producers of church, and congregations think of themselves as consumers of denominations, not producers of denominations,” Chemberlin said. “In many of our denominations the trend shows up by congregations saying ‘We don’t like what you’re doing, so we’re going to quit giving you money,’ which is a consumer mentality, understanding themselves as consumers, unobligated to the denomination. We understand that same dynamic to be in play in civic life where we are all too often identified as taxpayers (consumers) rather than citizens (producers).” [17]

In a me first culture, it is perhaps not surprising that people who know that there is a civic tradition and a lively civic life are more likely to be involved. This suggests the importance of a self conscious public story campaign by media, political and civic leaders to bring the civic heritage alive and to convey modern stories of strong citizenship.