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The Tone of Our Country Has Changed — And Americans Can See and Feel It Everywhere

The Tone of Our Country Has Changed — And Americans Can See and Feel It Everywhere

​U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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What is your take?

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diyun Zhu/Getty Images
David L. Nevins
By David L. NevinsOct 08, 2021
David L. Nevins
David L. Nevins serves as publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded anyone organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
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Last week, The Fulcrum introduced "What is your take?" This biweekly feature where we will ask our readers a question or two.

We look forward to engaging with our readers as we share your responses and create a dialogue around different topics and issues that are important to all of us.

Today's question is: One of the most popular songs in the Broadway show "Hamilton" is "My Shot." As we strive to help protect and improve democracy in America, what do you see as "Your Shot" to make a difference?

Please share your responses by emailing to pop-culture@fulcrum.us.

In the meantime, let's look back at The Fulcrum's first question: What piece of art, music or theater has enhanced (or detracted) your connection to the work you do?

We were overwhelmed by the number of responses and thank everyone who participated. The responses showcase our belief that the arts have the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people.

Below are a few of the numerous responses we received speaking to the power of the arts to connect us as a people.

Responses

  • "The Peace Train" by Cat Stevens. I've always loved that song even without knowing all of the lyrics. I wish we all spent more time on the "peace train" and less time on the "crazy train!" — Mary Gaylord.

patriotic artworkwww.educatingforamericandemocracy.org

  • What a neat new idea! I saw the above piece from the Educating for American Democracy team. The category was civic honesty, reflective patriotism and the artist was in the 10th grade. It reminds me that we can touch democracy from many different angles and if the youth of today demonstrate this democratic beauty — then we must be creating "a more perfect union". — Sara Gifford, ActiVote.
  • Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg's installation on the National Mall of 690,000-plus white flags representing lives lost to Covid reminded me of the incredible power of art. This dramatic installation, "In American Flags," is providing both an opportunity for national recognition of the massive loss we have all experienced and personal acknowledgement for those who have lost loved ones. Absolutely incredible. — Liz Harvey, American Promise.
  • I was totally surprised and enchanted by the Wind Circle Peace Sculpture at the Devil's Tower National Monument. The Mobius Strip was by the community college where I taught as a symbol of paradox and unification. We had different fields (sometimes competing for resources) as well as a very disparate student body, and we were trying to unite and work together without discounting any of the components. The history behind the Junky Moto's Circle of Smoke Peace Sculpture reinforced my faith and hope. — Anonymous

When we asked our first question, we said we expected the answers to run the gamut from exasperated to humorous to anxious to hopeful. We were not surprised.

We are more convinced than ever that by engaging our readers through music, theatre, poetry, dance and all the arts, The Fulcrum can help us all find our shared humanity despite the sharp elbows of the day-to-day in American life and politics. And by doing so we hope to build upon The Fulcrum's mission of being a place where insiders and outsiders to politics are informed, meet, talk and act to repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives.

Thank you.
David L. Nevins
Co-Publisher, The Fulcrum


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From observing people and politicians over the years—I can find no data on this—I have the impression that liberals as well as conservatives think that the typical person living in poverty is Black or Hispanic. The image most Whites have of people of color is someone who is poor—except for celebrities—with little education; they are not aware of many people of color who are middle class. On the other hand, they are not aware of many Whites who are poor and so they think their number is low.

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The San Antonio Teen Pregnancy Collaborative (SATPPC) was formed in 2010 in response to news that Bexar County had one of the highest rates of teen births in the United States. The SATPPC brought together an impressive list of cross-sector organizations, including public entities, community-based organizations, and faith-based and secular institutions. The group’s overall goal was to reduce the Bexar County teen birth rate among females ages 15 to 19 by 15% by 2020, and it exceeded this goal even before that date.

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Last week, in his latest attempted liquidation of our shared heritage, President Trump signed two executive orders eviscerating protections for close to three million acres of our national monuments: Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. From the Oval Office, a president who has never even seen these sacred sites reduced them by roughly 90%, dwarfing his 2017 attempt at a similar land grab by about a million acres, leaving only 300,000 acres of protected land. These cuts will directly threaten critical wildlife habitats, put nearly 100,000 irreplaceable archaeological sites at risk of destruction, and fracture an interconnected indigenous homeland that has been stewarded by Native tribes since time immemorial. To Trump, it’s just another real estate deal.

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