Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
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.

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

8 Keys to Working Across Differences

Around 600 leaders from across the country gathered in Seattle for the Building Together 2026 conference.

8 Keys to Working Across Differences

Recently, close to 600 leaders from across the country — representing some of the nation’s largest grant makers, community foundations, and grassroots groups — gathered in Seattle. They joined forces to strategize on how to do the difficult work of bringing Americans together in an era of intense polarization that threatens to pull us apart.

The charitable sector has always played this role in American life, fueled by the belief that the country’s diversity of identities, priorities, and worldviews is a resource, not an obstacle. It mobilizes people from all walks of life when floods, wildfires, and other crises strike. It builds powerful coalitions for the common good, whether for a local park, job creation, or new affordable housing. And it connects people across seemingly insurmountable divides born of our differences in politics, class, race, faith, and more.

Keep ReadingShow less
Businessman on ladder arranging large, multicolored speech bubbles on blue background

Pluralism has a messaging problem. Explore how body metaphors shape politics, exclusion, diversity, and democratic governance across difference.


Malte Mueller / Getty Images

We Need a New Metaphor of Us

Pluralism has a messaging problem. Part of the reason why is that there is no common emotionally intuitive metaphor for the collaborative co-creation of governance across differences that is a pluralistic democracy.

This matters because humans do not think politically through abstract principles alone — we think through metaphor.

Keep ReadingShow less
Congressional Record: Capitol Hill’s Bipartisan Concert Starring Musical Congress Members

Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL) on the drums.

Congressional Record: Capitol Hill’s Bipartisan Concert Starring Musical Congress Members

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representatives and senators remain fiercely divided over President Donald Trump… yet they remain united over John Denver.

On May 13, hundreds of attendees packed the U.S. Capitol Building’s auditorium for Congressional Record, a concert where musical Republican and Democratic members of Congress alike showcased their talents. Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads served as the grand finale, with all members joining onstage in a rousing performance across party lines.

Keep ReadingShow less
Two Yellow Speech Bubbles Overlapping Common Ground on Blue Background Front View.

A reflection on parenting, empathy, and communication in a divided world.

Getty Images, MirageC

Agreement Is Not Understanding

During a recent conversation, my 16-year-old son told me I did not understand him.

Parents know these moments well. What begins as a disagreement about something practical can quickly become something larger. A conversation about rules, expectations, timing, priorities, or responsibility suddenly transforms into a referendum on whether your child feels seen, heard, and respected.

Keep ReadingShow less