Few can doubt that at this moment of great stress, America's future prospects rest specially on the ability of her people to make common cause in rebuilding the nation. The country's citizens, its families, and its institutions both public and private face challenges and choices rarely before experienced in our history.

When grave threats have presented themselves in generations gone by, the American response has been bolstered by a deep belief that our future together will be brighter if the many elements of our diverse society manage to unite for the good of the whole. We have believed so strongly in the power of this idea that we have even put it on our coins—“E Pluribus Unum”—out of many, one. Benjamin Franklin had a simpler way of putting it: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we will all hang separately.”

This approach to the American experiment in democracy has succeeded only because so many people over so many generations have decided to become engaged on matters of common interest. Not content to be spectators, Americans have joined with their neighbors in voluntary associations, religious assemblies, political parties, and a host of other joint efforts. They have studied current events and participated in debate on matters great and small from the town hall to the national capital.

We believe that America will be a stronger nation with a brighter future if the country's institutions and its practices encourage the robust civic involvement that has served us so well for so long. The Indiana Civic Health Index seeks to measure just how successfully we are doing on this score, with the hope that such an examination will prompt all of us to work harder at expanding public understanding and participation in the cause of active citizenship.

We hope that this report card will produce further debate and action on building civic engagement. With that said, to paraphrase the Declaration of Independence, we submit these facts for your candid consideration.