Democracy Requires Ongoing Renewal
Democracy is a Living System that Depends on the Flourishing of Humans Within It
David Bobb, head of Bill of Rights Institute
David Bobb argues that the path to democratic renewal runs straight through civil discourse: habits of mind and practice that citizens use between elections. Invoking Jefferson, he reframes civics as “everyday citizenship… the kind of stuff that happens when you’re not voting.” Renewal, in this view, isn’t achieved by episodic turnout but by daily, structured disagreement that sharpens ideas, builds coalitions, and restores trust.
Bobb’s first move is cultural: flip the deficit narrative. “Let’s stop beating up on teachers and teenagers and telling them they’re ignorant and apathetic and build programs for them that actually elicit the kind of engagement that we really want.” Knowledge matters, but lasting renewal depends on cultivating the disposition to engage with difference. In a plural republic, he insists, “we're going to manage disagreement, not eliminate it, and we got to have that openness that says I really do genuinely care in a pluralistic, principled way about what my fellow citizens think, and I'm confident enough in the place that I stand that I can not only withstand challenge, but need it.” This is civil discourse as muscle, not mood.
How do institutions build that muscle? First, make the invisible visible. “You have to make this thing that’s largely invisible more visible to students.” The thrill of going to Capitol Hill is obvious; the democratic craft is the step-by-step work of starting a farmer’s market or organizing disaster-preparedness, projects that teach inquiry, coalition-building, and tradeoffs. Second, anchor classrooms in a neutral lingua franca of debate: examine primary sources, separate fact from opinion, and steelman opposing arguments so teachers can manage disagreement without declaring a winner.
Bobb warns against performative service that breeds cynicism. If “we script volunteerism, what lesson do students take away? They could take it in one direction and say being a volunteer is great and amazing, and this is where the real action is. Or they could say, ‘you the adult community, once again, are being authoritarian in the way that you tell me to do stuff’. And I'm afraid that a lot of them take away the lesson of authoritarianism rather than true charity.”
Authentic responsibility is the antidote: “We want to get kids on a trajectory towards involvement in civil society, with a recognition that government is an important part of civics, but it’s not everything.” That also means real power, not tokenistic roles like being Student Council head and picking the kind of pizza kids can order
The adolescent context makes renewal urgent and possible. “Every day, a teenager is putting on a new personality,” Rachel Humphries often tells Bobb. Kids are lonely and afraid to take a social risk. How do we draw them out of themselves so they get a contribution mentality? By helping them experience that pluralism is good, “that dignity flows from the principle of the Declaration of Independence properly understood, and makes those parts of the common good very clear and shows what the stakes are,” Bobb says.
Civil discourse is not a nicety; it is the engine of democratic renewal. When young people practice it, in classrooms, clubs, and community projects, they don’t just learn civics; they renew it.