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Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

Coins on top of countries.

If Countries Stop Buying U.S. Debt, Everything Changes.

Redistricting

Redistricting

Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs on stage

Luke Combs, politics and healing our nation's divide

The End of the American Era

The End of the American Era

A fictional, fanciful sign depicts the results of voter suppression through the unfair, partisan manipulation of district lines (gerrymandering).

The worst congressional gerrymanders of the 2020s

Democracy in Action: February Retrospective

Democracy in Action: February Retrospective

Calendar page February of the year 2025 white color in meeting room in office.

Getty Images//Midnight Studio
Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaMar 15, 2025
Hugo Balta
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Welcome to Democracy In Action, insights and discussion about some of the most talked-about topics of the previous month with Fulcrum collaborators.

Consistent with the Fulcrum's mission, this program strives to share many perspectives to widen our readers' viewpoints.

There is, as always, so much to talk about…including President Trump and V-P JD Vance are accused of ambushing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, Elon Musk leading an assault on USAID, and Linda McMahon being confirmed as secretary of education.

Joining us to discuss these topics and more are:

Doris Maldonado Mendez, a member of the Connecticut Mirror’s Community Editorial Board.

Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen, a futurist and the author of the award-winning book The Future of Smart. Her research and writing focus on bridging cultural and ideological divides during periods of rapid social change.

Seth David Radwell, author of “American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing our Nation” and he serves on the Advisory Councils at Business for America, RepresentUs, and The Grand Bargain Project.

I am the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network and a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network.

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We began the conversation with President Trump’s threat to shut down the Department of Education.

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Check out:

Project 2025: Department of Education

DEI programs are essential to tackle systemic barriers

Americans may have voted to dismantle government, but they must not leave their children behind

Latest news

"Voter Here" sign outside of a polling location.
Electoral Reforms

Stopping the Descent Toward Banana Republic Elections

hundred dollar bills.
Governance & Legislation

Congress Bill Spotlight: Donald J. Trump $250 Bill Act

​The U.S. Constitution.
Democracy

Call for a Constitutional Convention Veils Anti-Constitutionalism and Portends Political Chaos

Introducing The Expand Democracy 5

Introducing The Expand Democracy 5

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Drain—More Than Fight—Authoritarianism and Censorship
Getty Images, Mykyta Ivanov

Drain—More Than Fight—Authoritarianism and Censorship

The current approaches to proactively counteracting authoritarianism and censorship fall into two main categories, which we call “fighting” and “Constitution-defending.” While Constitution-defending in particular has some value, this article advocates for a third major method: draining interest in authoritarianism and censorship.

“Draining” refers to sapping interest in these extreme possibilities of authoritarianism and censorship. In practical terms, it comes from reducing an overblown sense of threat of fellow Americans across the political spectrum. When there is less to fear about each other, there is less desire for authoritarianism or censorship.

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The Eagles Soar
bald eagle above brown frield
Photo by Richard Lee on Unsplash

The Eagles Soar

Nearly every American can identify the bald eagle as our country’s national symbol, purveyor of our proud heritage. Formerly declared endangered and facing extinction, in just the last fifteen years, the eagle population has quadrupled. Eagles are now spotted in areas it was feared they would never soar again: the Mississippi river bluffs, the plains of the Midwest, the east coast, the west, literally from sea to shining sea.

The Great Seal of the United States of America, adopted in 1782, features a bald eagle with a banner in its beak reading “E pluribus unum”—"out of many, one.” The seal represents strength, freedom, and independence and is a symbol of our nation's sovereignty. It is used to authenticate official documents.

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Defining the Democracy Movement: Richard Young
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Defining the Democracy Movement: Richard Young

The Fulcrum presents The Path Forward: Defining the Democracy Reform Movement. Scott Warren's weekly interviews engage diverse thought leaders to elevate the conversation about building a thriving and healthy democratic republic that fulfills its potential as a national social and political game-changer. This series is the start of focused collaborations and dialogue led by The Bridge Alliance and The Fulcrum teams to help the movement find a path forward.

The most recent interview of this series took place with Richard Young, the Executive Director of CivicLex, a nonprofit organization strengthening civic health in Lexington, Kentucky. In addition to leading important work in Lexington, Richard has become an evangelist for the importance of place-based democracy work, which has indisputably gained interest and attention following the 2024 general election.

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The Evolving Social Contract: From Common Good to Contemporary Practice

An illustration of hands putting together a puzzle.

Getty Images, cienpies

The Evolving Social Contract: From Common Good to Contemporary Practice

The concept of the common good in American society has undergone a remarkable transformation since the nation's founding. What began as a clear, if contested, vision of collective welfare has splintered into something far more complex and individualistic. This shift reflects changing times and a fundamental reimagining of what we owe each other as citizens and human beings.

The nation’s progenitors wrestled with this very question. They drew heavily from Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who saw the social contract as a sacred covenant between citizens and their government. But they also pulled from deeper wells—the Puritan concept of the covenant community, the classical Republican tradition of civic virtue, and the Christian ideal of serving one's neighbor. These threads wove into something uniquely American: a vision of the common good that balances individual liberty with collective responsibility.

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