Edition No. 31
In this Edition
Arts and Philanthropy
Eric Ward, Executive Director of Western States Center, shares an opinion piece in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, where he notes that perhaps the best place for us to begin finding common ground and healing divisions between ideologies and partisan politics is music.
American Democracy
An April article from The Atlantic shares the findings of Sam Wang and Ari Goldblum, who set out to learn why Congress has difficulty getting things done. And determine if anyone benefits from that inaction. Their findings are both fascinating and educational.
Rebuilding Democracy. One Song At A Time.
As a patriotic, cultural, and community leader, The War Memorial often looks to other prominent organizations for guidance and inspiration on what specific actions we can take to play our part in creating a more perfect union.
A recent opinion piece in The Chronicle of Philanthropy did just that. Written by Eric K. Ward, executive director of Western States Center, the article asks an important question: How can philanthropy and the arts help rebuild American Democracy, all while fostering the deep values of equity, prosperity, and generosity? The piece addresses how the Capitol attacks on January 6 rattled many people and their beliefs, and brought about many conversations of the struggles between white nationalists and advocates of the promise of a multiracial democracy.
Ward’s main takeaway is that the divides in ideologies and partisan politics can be mended when common ground is found—particularly in music. Music connects all humans, and as Ward puts it:
“We need more stories that help us remember each other’s humanity — stories of resilience and redemption that reach across ideological divides.”
Westen States Center created an Inclusive Democracy Culture Lab, which works to combat bigotry and hate by developing new narratives through music.
Read the full article to learn more about what steps are being taken by the Culture Lab, a few prominent artists they have partnered with, and the way this work can be mimicked in the field of philanthropy. And the best part? The cohort of eleven artists currently involved in the project created a Spotify playlist, which features songs highlighting inclusive democracy. To read the full article, click or tap here.
Is Washington Gridlocked?
To borrow Mark Twain’s famous witticism about the weather, “Everybody complains about partisan gridlock, but nobody ever does anything about it.” Earlier this year, Sam Wang and Ari Goldblum of the Electoral Innovation Lab at Princeton University set out to learn why Congress has such difficulty getting things done and determine who, if anyone, benefits from that inaction. After crunching the numbers, Wang and Goldbloom-Helzner reported their findings in a well-researched and data-based Atlantic article posted online on April 30. Their analysis found both a “culprit” (the Filibuster) and who benefits (the Republican Party).
“Because neither party can reliably elect enough senators to overcome a filibuster, modern American politics is trapped.”— Sam Wang & Ari Goldbloom-Helzner, Princeton University
Follow the link below to read their analysis including two shocking findings. First, that Republicans can (at least in theory) get to a Filibuster-proof 60-Senator majority with a much smaller percentage of the total national vote for the Senate than can Democrats. Second, that control of the Senate actually rested with the party receiving the smaller proportion of the total national vote for Senate in 9 of the last 40 years and, when that happened, it always placed Republicans in control of the Senate. Click or tap here to read the full article. Please note: subscriptions may be required to access the full article.
Inspired Thoughts is a collection of highly curated content that embraces the spirit and purpose of The War Memorial: arts and culture, community enrichment, leadership, and patriotism.
Derived from the notion that learning from others is the key to success, Inspired Thoughts is meant to shine a light on those making a difference in the world around them. This collection features artists, poets, writers, architects, and every thought leader in-between. Inspired Thoughts is the strongest reflection of what The War Memorial stands for, and what we aim to be.
The content featured on Inspired Thoughts is curated by War Memorial leadership — we also look forward to featuring special guest curators in the near future. If you are interested in providing content for Inspired Thoughts, please email our Communications team at jkaminski@warmemorial.org.