CIVIC LITERACY:  THE CORNERSTONE OF DEMOCRACY

            Since the de-colonization of the European empires in the 1950's and 1960's and the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1980's, an unprecedented number of nations and peoples have come to be engaged in the pursuit of "democracy."   These efforts have met with success in some countries and failure in others, while the jury is still out in many places.  Practical limitations aside, however, few would dispute that at least the forms and rhetoric of popular sovereignty, if not the reality, have ascended in world public esteem in recent decades.

            Beginning with the First World War and the Wilsonian dream of the League of Nations, the United States of America has been at least rhetorically committed to fostering the establishment of democracy and the rule of law throughout the world.  Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms (of speech, of worship, from want, and from fear) simply yet eloquently encapsulate the American attitude toward democracy's guarantees of human rights for all humanity.

            In reality, we often fall far short of our lofty rhetoric.  230 years after the Declaration of Independence, American democracy is far from perfect.  As we undertake to teach others in the world the values we preach, we would do well to improve the practice of democracy here at home.

            Surveys have consistently revealed how uninformed and ill equipped the sovereign people of the United States are to exercise their rights and duties as citizens.  We have a crisis of civic illiteracy in our country.  In states like Mississippi, where a large segment of the population was systematically excluded from political participation until the 1960's, civic illiteracy is compounded by the absence of a tradition of civic involvement.

            Mississippi Policy Forum has an ambitious mission:  we have declared war on civic illiteracy in Mississippi.  In our schools, churches, civic and social organizations, community centers, government offices, and homes, wherever few or many will gather, we will foster the study and discussion of public policy and its practical application to all our lives.  Through the use of publications and electronic media, we will provide the tools of democracy to every interested Mississippian.  Through our efforts, in partnership with any and all willing organizations and individuals, we will develop in Mississippi a capable sovereign people and an informed electorate.

            Please take a moment to join us in this fight.  E-mail us at admin@mspolicyforum.org and become a charter member today by joining our e-mail list, or call us at 1-877-944-0934 to sign up for regular updates.