Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Can St. Patrick and green beer save American democracy?

three people wearing green top hats

The 2023 St. Patrick's Day parade in New York brought smiles to people's faces.

Wendy P. Romero/Long Visual Press/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Clancy is co-founder of Citizen Connect and board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund. Citizen Connect is an initiative of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, which also operates The Fulcrum.

Let’s make a few things crystal clear right up front. First and foremost, green beer has always been a bad choice and is without any saving grace. I also doubt that even St. Patrick in his prime could drive all the political snakes out of today’s Washington. The history of St. Patrick’s Day itself is not without major warts – particularly regarding who could and couldn’t participate.

But despite these caveats, I believe there is something about America’s version of the holiday that embodies strengths our nation can and should lean into – particularly going into a high-stakes, take-no-prisoners election year.


This suggestion isn’t coming from a rabid St. Patrick’s Day fan. Growing up with a distinctly Irish name, I was ambivalent at best about a holiday that reinforced so many caricatures and myths. As a kid (with a big dose of adolescent snark) I would say it was my job to be Irish 364 days a year and March 17 was my one day off. I also saw many efforts to define Americans by ethnic, religious or racial differences doing more to fuel divisions than to build healthy pride.

As time went by, I’ve softened my view. What brought that about? Part of it was learning more about history. We’ve been at this in America for a very long time – in fact our first St. Patrick’s Day parades took place well before the Declaration of Independence was signed. First as a reflection of Irish pride (and sometimes defiance), over the centuries they have become more welcoming. Like the greatest aspects of the American story itself, more and more people have been allowed to participate – both as parade marchers and celebrants.

This hasn’t come easily (it never does) and even involved a landmark Supreme Court case concerning access for LGBTQ groups. Today it can feel like the Supreme Court decides everything, but while that decision actually affirmed the right to restrict parade participation it wasn’t the final word. What turned the tide was changing attitudes and the willingness of political and business leaders to stand up for pitching a bigger tent.

As important to changing my attitude was personally witnessing several St. Patrick’s Day “miracles.” These included a longstanding breakfast tradition in Boston that features Republicans and Democrats putting aside their differences and making jokes rather than scoring political points. Humor is a really important part of the St. Patrick’s Day magic. Punch lines that are bitter and come at the expense of others feed our collective anxiety and anger. Laughing at ourselves and with each other is what heals and builds bridges.

I’ve also attended multiple parades – including a big one in my conservative Florida town – where I’ve seen a cross-section of Americans joyfully marching and cheering each other on. Celebrating anything as a community is a very beautiful and powerful thing – and all too rare in today’s America.

The sad fact is that navigating holidays has become much too complex and politized lately. We now need to walk on eggshells when we sincerely offer best wishes – for example, the whole “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy holidays” thing. To date, St. Patrick’s Day has been spared – and it’s really important we keep it that way. There are no sides to take, nobody is keeping score, and it isn’t about red and blue – it’s just about different and often crazy shades of green that are almost invariably unflattering. Just come as you are to celebrate Irish culture and/or the coming of spring. It’s an example of what America can be at its most authentically exceptional and unpretentious.

We desperately need to expand the number of special days like this – when we put aside “us vs. them” thinking and come together. We need days where we can wear silly stuff, not talk politics, and celebrate the contributions of different members of the American family. This attitude and the values behind it should have an important role to play every single day.

For example, I can envision Election Day as a celebration of these aspects of the American character. Sure we will vote for different candidates, but we could also see it as an opportunity to express shared gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy and for those who sacrificed so much to secure them for us. The bottom line is that St. Patrick’s Day shows we’re capable of celebrating together without putting our differences, frustrations and anger front and center. If we can pull that off (albeit imperfectly) for even one day, it means we can do it more often. I sincerely believe that for the American experiment to survive and thrive we need to find the wisdom and courage to do just that.

BTW – if our toxic politics is making you consider green beer or even something stronger to deaden the pain, try Citizen Connect first. It’s a nonpartisan online platform I co-founded that puts 600 organizations dedicated to finding common ground at your fingertips.

Read More

Carolyn Lukensmeyer Turns 80: A Life of Commitment to “Of, By, and for the People”

Carolyn Lukensmeyer.

The National Institute for Civil Discourse and New Voice Strategies

Carolyn Lukensmeyer Turns 80: A Life of Commitment to “Of, By, and for the People”

I’ve known Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer for over a decade, first meeting her about a decade ago. Dr. Lukensmeyer is a nationally renowned expert in deliberative democracy, a former executive director emerita of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship.

On the weekend of her 80th birthday, former colleagues, clients, and friends offered a look at Dr. Lukensmeyer’s extraordinary commitment to “of, by, and for the peoples,” from her earlier days in Iowa and Ohio to the present day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bridgebuilding Effectiveness

Hands together in unison.

Getty Images, VioletaStoimenova

Bridgebuilding Effectiveness

In a time of deep polarization and democratic fragility, bridgebuilding has become a go-to approach for fostering civic cohesion in the U.S. Yet questions persist: Does it work? And how do we know?

With declining trust, rising partisanship, and even political violence, many are asking what the role of dialogue might be in meeting democracy’s demands. The urgency is real—and so is the need for more strategic, evidence-based approaches.

Keep ReadingShow less
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
a red hat that reads make america great again

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Recently, while listening to a podcast, I came across the term “reprise” in the context of music and theater. A reprise is a repeated element in a performance—a song or scene returning to reinforce themes or emotions introduced earlier. In a play or film, a familiar melody might reappear, reminding the audience of a previous moment and deepening its significance.

That idea got me thinking about how reprise might apply to the events shaping our lives today. It’s easy to believe that the times we are living through are entirely unprecedented—that the chaos and uncertainty we experience are unlike anything before. Yet, reflecting on the nature of a reprise, I began to reconsider. Perhaps history does not simply move forward in a straight line; rather, it cycles back, echoing familiar themes in new forms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Following Jefferson: Promoting Intergenerational Understanding Through Constitution-Making

An illustration depicting the U.S. Constitution and Government.

Getty Images, Douglas Rissing

Following Jefferson: Promoting Intergenerational Understanding Through Constitution-Making

Towards the end of his life, Thomas Jefferson became fatalistic. The prince and poet of the American Revolution brooded—about the future of the country he birthed, to be sure; but also about his health, his finances, his farm, his family, and, perhaps most poignantly, his legacy. “[W]hen all our faculties have left…” he wrote to John Adams in 1822, “[when] every avenue of pleasing sensation is closed, and athumy, debility, and malaise [is] left in their places, when the friends of our youth are all gone, and a generation is risen around us whom we know not, is death an evil?”

The question was rhetorical, of course. But it revealed something about his character. Jefferson was aware that Adams and he—the “North and South poles of the Revolution”—were practically the only survivors of the Revolutionary era, and that a new generation was now in charge of America’s destiny.

Keep ReadingShow less