Cornerstones of Democracy
As we face a country divided over many issues, this Commission
encourages the legal profession to lead the way in promoting civics, civility,
and collaboration—among the cornerstones of our democracy—to restore confidence
in our democratic institutions and the judicial system, and to protect the rule
of law.
Your Gift Matters
Lawyers can use their expertise, and the organizational
reach and capacity of bars, to build bridges within communities and strengthen
civil discourse and democracy-building capacities and narratives. Such efforts
reduce information manipulation and polarization and also support informed
electoral and other public participation. They involve the public with their democratic
institutions in a peaceful and respectful way (civility), engage from a
standpoint of constitutional knowledge and participation (civics), and
exemplify that direct communication with others is powerful (collaboration).
Our Impact and Next Steps
The Cornerstones of Democracy Commission seeks to continue and expand the AAA ICDR-funded program to support additional bar entities to foster community dialogue and broad collaboration to advance civil discourse, the rule of law, and confidence in democracy. We will also share, across the ABA, the lessons and skills learned to date that further develops these capacities of the legal community.
We will also focus on amplifying the “lawyer as public citizen” – a role that can begin in law schools and extend throughout professional and civic life. We will draw here on the report and recommendations of ABA Resolution #501 that affirms the principle of civility as a foundation for democracy and the rule of law and urges “all lawyers, ABA member entities, and other bar associations to take meaningful steps to enhance the constructive role of lawyers in promoting a more civil and deliberative public discourse.”
In partnership with others, we will continue to develop
ABA-wide and individual section programming and provide an inventory of civil
discourse-related tools and resources on our webpages. To these same ends, we
will also continue our alliance building with the business community to support
civics and collaboration-related projects that help address the adversarial, zero-sum,
and low-trust politics that can undermine democracy.