civic discourse
Community political conversation
Civic discourse is public conversation about matters of community concern—politics, policy, social issues.
The term implies reasoned exchange among citizens rather than shouting matches or propaganda.
Politicians and educators often invoke it when lamenting its decline: We need to restore civic discourse in this country.
The adjective civic emphasizes participation in shared governance.
- good faithSincere, honest intent
- town hallsLocal government headquarters
- town meetingLocal governance assembly
- dialogueSpoken exchange between parties
- governanceHow authority is exercised
democracy · mutual understanding · common ground · forums · debate · respect · deliberation · discussion · letters to the editor · accountability · public hearings · public comment · open forum · petitions · mediation · rhetoric · policy · justice
- civic engagementvoting, public participation, participatory democracy, democratic participation, democratic accountability
- public speakingspeech, public speaking, keynotes, keynote speeches, oratory
civic discoursetoxic discourse
Harmful, divisive communication patterns
demagoguery · propaganda · hate speech · verbal abuse · flame wars
civic discoursecensorship
Official content restriction
political repression · silencing · authoritarianism · disenfranchisement · book banning
civic, discourse, civil, civilian, civility, civilization, civilize, civilized, incivility