Library lecture examines state of political discourse

COEUR d'ALENE - Why have our politics recently become so nasty?

A lecture examining the current state of political discourse comes to the Coeur d'Alene Public Library at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 19.

The program, co-sponsored by the library and the Coeur d'Alene Press, will be presented by Cornell W. Clayton, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University.

"Why Can't We Get Along: Incivility, Partisan Polarization, and American Democracy" was first delivered by Clayton at a congressional forum in Washington, D.C., and has been presented at several universities in the past year.

"This lecture examines the nature of political incivility in America today," Clayton said. "It places today's uncivil political behavior into a broader historical context and explains the various factors causing the partisan polarization that has spawned it. Is incivility a threat to American democracy? Is it different than in the past? Can anything be done to change it?"

Clayton has lectured at universities around the world and has held fellowships or visiting professorships at the European Union Institute in Florence, Italy, the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, Kyoto University in Japan; the University of Bordeaux in France, the University of Siena in Italy, and at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.

The Thomas S. Foley Institute was established at WSU to honor Foley's more than 30 years of public service to both state and nation and as the 49th Speaker of the House of Representatives.