Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Write your song for America

Artists recording "We Are the World"

"We Are the World" united American on a common cause. Let's try to do that again.

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

We have only four weeks until Election Day, but there’s still time for you to write your song for America.

This election is so close and we are so divided as a nation that half of us are going to be unhappy with the result of the presidential election. The Fulcrum wants to counter the rancor and divide, so we are offering our readers the chance to write a song — one that celebrates our common bonds. A song that calls out to every American to express their patriotism, no matter who wins, through positive action.


We want to hear what a better America means to you. How would you use music to encourage all of us to get off the sidelines?

One new song featured this summer, “This Country Tis of Thee,” performed by chart-topping international songwriter Candace Asher, expresses this message loud and clear:

We are a nation trying to heal herself
We’re a nation who is we.
We’re a nation who has to make tough choices now
To remain the land of the free
We all hear the call from sea to signing sea
But leave it up to someone else to lead the way
When in fact it is up to each and one of us.
That’s the real American way
So what will you do? - What will you say ?

Now it’s your turn to write a song for America. Not a musician? It doesn’t matter — write the lyrics and we’ll put the top three to music and publish them in The Fulcrum.

It’s time to celebrate America! Write your song for America.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

And as a bonus, $100 will be awarded to each of the top five!

Rules and details

  • Must be original.
  • No more than 450 words (including repeating refrains).
  • Eligibility: Contestants must be at least 18 years of age.
  • Winners will be notified via email or phone.
  • By entering, participants grant The Fulcrum permission to use their name likeness, and entry for publication or promotional purposes without compensation.


Read More

In 2025, who has the "Big Tent" now?

A microphone in front of a crowd.

Canva Images

In 2025, who has the "Big Tent" now?

One of the core arguments I advance in this series is that as American citizens we have no hope of understanding, much less arbitrating, today’s bitter polarization without a deep appreciation of the antecedent roots from which it comes.

Further, I propose that many of the divisions we have experienced over our entire 250-year history are, in fact, derivative of the original late 18th-century schism from the nation’s founding period. As I’ve previously written, history can act as a salve for our wounds if only we would apply it.

Keep ReadingShow less
“Overthreat” and “Undertrust” Should Replace the Term Polarization

An illustration of people holding their phones out and having conversations online.

Getty Images, We Are

“Overthreat” and “Undertrust” Should Replace the Term Polarization

PART TWO

The previous article was a critique of the word “polarization”. This article suggests replacements to use instead, the new words “overthreat” and “undertrust.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Polarization was the word of the year. It’s highly problematic and we can do better.

Two wooden figurines arguing.

Getty Images, PM Images

Polarization was the word of the year. It’s highly problematic and we can do better.

PART ONE

Merriam-Webster named “polarization” the word of the year in 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
Natural Disasters Reveal the Truth About Our Shared Humanity

A firefighter on duty.

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash.

Natural Disasters Reveal the Truth About Our Shared Humanity

Originally published by Independent Voters News.

Though we come from opposite coasts, we share a painful reality that many Americans know all too well: our communities have been devastated by disaster. One of us lives in California, where historic wildfires have ravaged coastal cities - destroying thousands of homes and businesses, displacing tens of thousands of people, and claiming more than two dozen lives. The other lives in Augusta, Georgia, where Hurricane Helene recently caused widespread destruction by knocking down homes, wiping out farms, and taking hundreds of lives.

Keep ReadingShow less