When public culture is at its healthiest it’s a noisy, tension filled affair. We get the word “agony” from this kind of political culture.  An “agonistic” culture is one in which contestation, debate, and spirited conversations among citizens are standard operating procedure.  Being civil to one another does not mean being “nice.” Politics, after all, […]

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The world’s first democracy lasted for approximately 200 years.  Its location was ancient Athens.  It succumbed to the pressures of constant war and a series of very bad decisions, not the least of which was the slaughter and enslavement of the islanders of Melos during the Peloponnesian War. Some believe the destruction of the Melian […]

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