Category Archives: Civil Discourse

Cross-Partisans Against Co-Dependence

Written by . Posted on 9 Sep ’13. Filed under Barack Obama, Citizens, Civil Discourse, Congress, Cross-partisanship, Democracy, War and Peace, We The People. Tagged , , , , . No comments.

Yes, Syria is complicated. All the more reason we should not further complicate it with petty partisanship. A bittersweet byproduct of the Syrian complications is that they are producing bipartisan balance. Debates are getting closer to truly democratic, rather than just politically strategic. For this […]

Dr. King Dreamed That All Would Lead

Written by . Posted on 28 Aug ’13. Filed under Citizen Movement, Citizens, Civil Discourse, Civil Rights, I Have a Dream speech, Martin Luther King. Tagged . No comments.

By Andrea Morisette Grazzini Copyright, August 28, 2013 It wasn’t his charisma Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wanted us to remember. It wasn’t his courage. It wasn’t even his character. These were not the messages Dr. King wanted the Civil Rights movement to leave with our […]

Polite Assaults, Unspoken and Unseen.

Written by . Posted on 14 May ’13. Filed under Civil Discourse, Gun Control. 1 Comment.

Behind the bombings, kidnapped women and ever more American children dying in firearms accidents that so steadily, searingly are imprinting on our American psyches, are uncountable, if unseen, acts of common good. Though still far too few. “No More Hurting People” There was the peace-activist […]

Action, Not Talk, is Needed to End Gun Violence

Written by . Posted on 21 Dec ’12. Filed under Barack Obama, Citizen Movement, Civil Discourse, Democracy, Politics & Elections, Social Innovation, We The People. Tagged . 1 Comment.

After the unspeakable massacre of twenty children in Connecticut, some people seem to think that just speaking about it will solve the situation that led to such devastation. Barack Obama has called for a national conversation on guns. As has nearly every public leader and […]

Conservatives Must Banish Hate

Written by . Posted on 19 Feb ’12. Filed under Barack Obama, Civil Discourse, Civil Rights, Faith and religion, Nonpartisan Productive Dialogue. 4 Comments.

Also published at Star Tribune.  By Mitch Pearlstein On the chance you’re ever of the mind that yahoos have a special affinity for what some people think of as the political “right” — I’m alluding most immediately here to an ugly public invocation, try Googling “Bush” […]

“We’ve Got Each Others Back”

Written by . Posted on 24 Jan ’12. Filed under Barack Obama, Citizen Movement, Civil Discourse, Democracy, Politics & Elections, We The People. 3 Comments.

  Excerpted from President Barack Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Speech. (N)o matter what party they belong to, I bet most Americans are thinking the same thing right now:  Nothing will get done this year, or next year, or maybe even the year after that, because […]

Thanksgiving Debate: First Nation Immigration Policy

Written by . Posted on 23 Nov ’11. Filed under Citizens, Civil Discourse, Thanksgiving, Trump. Tagged , , , . 1 Comment.

Updated November 23, 2016 This being the United States details are always debatable depending on where one comes from. If ever were there a year that reminded us of that fact, no doubt 2016 has been it. Perhaps if for nothing else, we should be […]

If Hawks & Doves Married Moral Codes

Written by . Posted on 30 Sep ’11. Filed under Academic & Research, Civil Discourse, Faith and religion, Human Rights, Military. Tagged , , . 7 Comments.

  Portions of this essay were highlighted as “comments that best represent a range of views” in The New York Times. Also published in Australia’s political and social e-journal, OnLine Opinion. Andrea Morisette Grazzini, September 2011 When you juxtapose soldiers and peace activists you notice […]

Peace Activists Find Bipartisan Support at Straw Poll

Written by . Posted on 16 Aug ’11. Filed under Citizen Movement, Civil Discourse, Economy & Business, Nonpartisan Productive Dialogue, Politics & Elections, Populism. 2 Comments.

  Excerpted from Coleen Rowley’s reflections about peace-leaders’ engagement at campaign events. Coleen Rowley, August 2011 Thousands of attendees at Iowa’s recent Republican straw poll responded positively to the “Come Home America” message a group of citizens and I brought there. The Des Moines news […]

Discerning Humanity After Bin Laden’s Death

Written by . Posted on 3 May ’11. Filed under Arts & Music, Civil Discourse, Faith and religion, Human Rights. No comments.

    Also published in MinnPost. Andrea Morisette Grazzini, May 3, 2011 Perhaps no news topic has captured such attention by people of all ages and walks of life around the world as the death of Osama bin Laden.  An historical connection some see as […]

From Bipartisan Blame to Civilized Change

Written by . Posted on 21 Mar ’11. Filed under Athletics, Civil Discourse, Economy & Business, Gun Control, Media & Culture, Race. Tagged , , , , , , . 2 Comments.

What Basketball has to do with Arizona assassinations

Take the Other to Lunch

Written by . Posted on 8 Mar ’11. Filed under Civil Discourse, Media & Culture, Politics & Elections. Tagged , , , , , , . 3 Comments.

  Two days before Thanksgiving I called Al Quie, the former governor of Minnesota, at the recommendation of my colleague Harry Boyte, who suggested I’d see connections in our interests. This was shortly after an epiphany of sorts hit me. I’d come to believe that […]