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If you have read this far, you are likely persuaded that a healthy civic culture is crucial for a vibrant democracy. What unites America is neither language nor religion nor, given the nation’s vast size, even geography. Instead, the nation is united by Americans who believe in the idea of America and who balance their self-interest with the well-being of their community and country. Today, it has become all too common for individuals to act selfishly, to evade their responsibility to one another, and to vilify those who seem different. We risk losing our capacity to live together in a pluralistic society, without which the very existence of America as both an ideal and a nation is threatened. 

This publication presents a collection of dishes to satiate a nation hungry for unity, idealism, and common purpose. It is grounded in case studies—meticulously crafted recipes—successfully implemented by civic catalysts nationwide. If a formula for building a healthy civic culture proves successful in Portland, Maine, it stands to reason that, with appropriate adjustments, it could also flourish in Portland, Oregon. While each community is unique, the underlying principles for success can be universally applied. Yet journalists and lawmakers all too commonly express skepticism about America’s capacity to unite. Our case studies show that unity is already being achieved, in both significant and subtle ways. Americans are actively defining what a healthy civic culture should look like. The path to a healthier democracy lies in nurturing civic culture within individual communities, and then letting that healthy civic culture emanate from these communities until it encompasses the entire nation. Beyond providing guidance, we hope to inspire civic catalysts with these communities’ achievements—which demonstrate that the endeavor is not only feasible but crucial and already gaining momentum.

The title of this publication echoes Alexis de Tocqueville’s insights on “habits of the heart” as foundational to the American character. Tocqueville observed the importance of these habits for fostering informed participation at the ballot box and engagement with civic institutions. American democracy hinges on our collective faith in its efficacy. The effort to build a culture of greater civic spirit is in many ways an act of faith, an optimism that things can and will get better, and that people in a self-governing community can effect positive change.

Committing ourselves to constitutional democracy requires that we first commit ourselves to our fellow citizens and that we find within ourselves ways to have faith in them. This civic faith is magical yet fragile, unnoticed in stable times but starkly apparent when societal consensus falters. The faith in our self-governance does not come from the top down; it emerges from within, from the habits of heart and mind. We the people are responsible for rekindling these from within, recommitting to the norms, values, narratives, habits, and rituals that sustain American constitutional democracy through collective acts of civic faith.