How do we create a healthy democracy in a time of political polarization? How do we carry out our responsibilities as citizens in an increasingly interdependent world?
To help us answer these questions—together—California Humanities launched Searching for Democracy, a statewide initiative designed to animate public conversation on the very nature of democracy through a wide range of public programs leading into the 2012 elections and beyond.
The kickoff to the initiative, a forum entitled “Democracy and the Culture of Civic Conversation,” was held on March 4, 2011 at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles and adjacent Japanese American National Museum. California Humanities convened scholars, public intellectuals, policy specialists, journalists and authors to talk about the evolution of civic conversation and the changing nature of democracy over time.
This short video piece explores the question “what makes an informed society?” The selected responses are from those who participated in the launch of our initiative on March 4, 2011.
Original music by Nat Osborn
