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Play, download and edit the free video The Sutherland Institute Civics Initiative, featuring Yuval Levin.

As a think tank, Sutherland looks deeper into the issues of the day. If the evening news is in fact history’s first rough draft, then the history we’re writing today, with very few exceptions, is troubling. The division in America, according to some experts, is at Civil War levels. The very fact that we can see something is wrong, however, is good. We should be concerned about the state of political discourse, government dysfunction, riots, the criminal justice system, racism, accelerating hate crimes, and the list goes on.

Could it be that at least part of the reason we are seeing so much division, bitter partisan politics, and increasing violence in this nation has something to do with the fact that over time, we’ve come to a point where we hardly study or teach how freedom and self-governance work? Could it be that this bygone prioritization of history and civics has reduced our collective understanding of the institutions, the behaviors, the conditions that have kept us freer than any other nation for more than 200 years?

It’s questions like these that prompted Sutherland to propose an approach from the unique vantage point of an institute that has, for 25 years, studied the proper function of government and our civics and political processes. And that includes the strengths and exploitable weaknesses, and the conditions of freedom.

In our efforts to highlight and overcome the past mistakes of our Republic, we must be careful that we do not deny the rising generation the best of their American inheritance. We submit that their future is not benefited by robbing them of the context, perspective, struggles, and even a sense of gratitude for our freedoms. Those can all inspire and inform a future generation’s ability to lead and truly right past wrongs.

We believe it’s time for a local grassroots approach that can work in Utah and beyond. One that:

- Involves an honest study of our nation, including a recognition of the aspirations that exist within our form of self-governance.
- That seeks the common ground of non-politicized facts and truths about our people and our history.
- We call for an understanding of our successes and failures, why our form of government is different, and how it’s designed to work.
- It’s a call for context for examining current problems in their proper historical context.
- And finally, it’s a call for the reprioritization of history, civics, government studies, and critical thinking, that can facilitate these other objectives.

This is not a simple or an easy approach – make no mistake – it is in fact a STEM-like movement. It will take a groundswell of support from stakeholders – absolutely stakeholders in education, but not just education.

Now is the time to respond with a reprioritization of citizenship, not indoctrination, with a sequential, accurate, consistent and complete study of history, civics and government, one that allows for all perspectives – past and present – with critical thinking as the backdrop.

To set the tone, please watch this video message from Yuval Levin, whose studies of the challenges we face today have led him back to one point of focus: our institutions. This shared perspective shapes our initiative.

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