Report Finds Breakdown in Civic Learning, Threatening U.S. Democracy
Ideas for combating polarization and increasing public engagement
A new report released by The Hastings Center concludes that civic learning in the United States, or how citizens engage in collective problem solving and make informed decisions that reflect the common good, is breaking down, threatening democratic values. As policymakers and educators consider how to strengthen civic learning and democracy in the aftermath of challenges such as the assault on the U.S. Capitol, the report, “Democracy in Crisis: Civic Learning and the Reconstruction of Common Purpose,” proposes ways that Americans can help combat polarization and increase public engagement, including that we:
Address justice as a basis for civic participation.
Understand the interplay of facts and values.
Enhance schools’ commitments to advancing scientific literacy and preparing students for active civic engagement.
Create opportunities for citizens to engage with each other in deliberative forums.
In the Media: Speed, Equity, and Choice in Vaccine Allocation
The race to vaccinate as many people as possible against Covid-19 risks leaving medically underserved communities behind. In an interview with Politico, Hastings Center research scholar Nancy Berlinger warned against sacrificing equity for speed. “In health care, there is always a tension between do it fast and do it right,” she said. “We do not get to community immunity by focusing only on healthy, mobile, digitally savvy people.” Read the Politico article.
Is it ethical to travel outside your region to areas where Covid vaccines are more plentiful? Berlinger addressed this question in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio about residents of the city and suburbs of St. Louis, where vaccines have been scarce, driving to rural parts of the state, where supplies have been larger, to get vaccinated. Traveling long distances for a vaccine is “not a strategy that helps people most at risk for Covid,” she said. Listen to the St. Louis Public Radio interview.
With the prospect of more vaccines being authorized for emergency use, does it matter which vaccine you receive? Appearing on NJ Spotlight, a TV news program, Berlinger said that "in the public health context--under conditions of scarcity--we may have little choice or no choice" concerning which vaccine we receive. As more vaccines come into use, explaining their effectiveness in preventing life-threatening Covid-19 will be key to public confidence. Watch the NJ Spotlight segment.
The Dark Side of CRISPR
“Americans have celebrated the fact that the Biden administration is embracing science and returning the country to evidence-based policymaking. We agree that science should guide policy—except in cases where it wouldn’t assist people to live their lives but would, instead, exclude them,” write Hastings Center senior advisory Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and Sandi Sufian in Scientific American. The authors, who are disability scholars, “have grave worries that the use of these ‘genetic scissors’ will, in the future, cut people like us out of existence without others even noticing.” They continue: “bad genes don’t necessarily lead to bad lives, just as good genes don’t necessarily lead to good lives. If CRISPR is put to use to eliminate rather than treat genetic difference, we as a society would essentially instrumentalize this moralistic and reductionist assumption.” Read the Scientific American essay.
Upcoming Events
"Platform Heals? Ethical Issues in Direct-to-Consumer Telepharmacies."Project manager/research assistant Ben Wills will discuss ethical and legal issues of telepharmacies at the ELSI Conversations, February 26, 12pm EST.
"Which Public, What Comments? An Analysis of Public Comments on Human-Animal Chimera Research Submitted to the Natioal Institutes of Health." Project managers/research assistants Isabel Bolo and Ben Wills will discuss oversight of human-animal chimera research: views of scientists, researchers, oversight committees, and the public at the ELSI Conversations, March 19, 12pm EST.
"Binocularity: A Conceptual Tool for Comprehending and Respecting Persons." Senior research scholar Erik Parens will be presenting as part of the Montreal Health Ethics Conference Series 2021: Wellness, health, and human flourishing. May 27, 12pm EST.
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