News

Civility Can Win The Day

By September 23, 2025September 25th, 2025No Comments

Legislative Program Facilitator: Civility Can Win the Day

Representative Mike Mrowicki, a NICD Legislative Program Facilitator currently serving in the Vermont House of Representatives, wrote an op-ed for local Vermont media describing the important efforts of the Legislative Program in increasing civility during a time of rising tensions in our politics.

We’re glad that Representative Mrowicki brings his bipartisan approach to the legislative program, and have included his op-ed below.

Can intentional Civility bridge what divides us these days? Especially the divisions that incite violence?
With the recent shootings of Charlie Kirk and Minnesota Speaker of the House, Melissa Hortman, and the ongoing school shootings and gun violence across the country, the question of how do we disagree but stay civil? looms larger than ever.
The National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD) believes we can do just that – be able to disagree with Civility. I also believe so, which is why I volunteer in their State Legislative Program.
NICD was formed after the shooting of Congresswoman  Gabby Giffords in Tucson, AZ, and is affiliated with the University of Arizona there. Realizing shootings are the ultimate in incivility, and that increased levels of incivility by political leaders can lead to violence, the State Legislative Program was started by State Sen. Ted Celeste of Ohio. It brings together state legislators in their respective states to exercise the old adage that the quickest way to build bridges between people is through sharing our stories.
This is at the heart of our work. The State Legislative Program is currently led by Dr. Thom Little of North Carolina. Thom starts our workshop with the story of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. How together they opposed the abuse of power by King George and helped craft our Declaration of Independence. Then, after our government was formed, their stories and ways diverge. Each held strong personal beliefs about whether the greatest power of government should be held by the federal or state governments. Eventually, they reconciled personally without compromising on their principles. Then, coincidentally, they died on the same day, July 4th, 1826. Exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The program next digs into the deep end of the work, gathering together in small groups of mixed political persuasions. Then, we tell our personal story of what shaped our values and who we see ourselves as.
The stories are deeply personal. Starting with the facilitators, we try to set the tone and model what will be helpful. My story is about the need to give back to a community that gave our family so much during the years we had a sick child, who was in and out of the hospital for several years.
The first workshop I helped with was in Idaho, followed by Delaware, South Carolina, and most recently in Georgia. The result is usually similar whether a strong Red or Blue state: seeing each other as more human, with some common connection.
These legislators can now see each other in terms of their common humanity. They understand that they don’t have to give up their beliefs but can see beyond them to a bigger picture that can hold both their beliefs and those of others.
Here in Vermont, I’ve tried to “walk that talk” in our legislature and reached across the aisle to work together for bills that benefit our state. In the last session, Republican Rep. Mark Higley (R) of Lowell and I were chief sponsors of the bill designating November as Veterans Month. The idea came from a constituent in Dummerston, Mark Krakum, a veteran, who suggested veterans deserve more than just a day in November but a month.
I will note that at the bill signing ceremony, there was a consensus from those who had subsequently signed on to the bill that it felt good to find common ground and work together.
A bipartisan bill has also been submitted by Rep. Jim Harrison (R) and me that would create a system for Electronic voting on the House floor. Admittedly, Jim and I don’t always agree, but when we disagree, we do so respectfully. That helped us work together to pull this bill together.
And in our community, realizing people need places and events to allow them to “be in community,” and share the stories that connect them, I’m one of the ongoing organizers for our Monthly Community Suppers in Putney.
Our nation can’t go on as we are, with ongoing incivility and increasing violence. David French, conservative columnist for the NY Times, just concluded his column on the Kirk shooting with “We have to work through our differences and remember our decency. The gun cannot rule the day.”
Disagreement makes for a better result in crafting legislation. Disagreement doesn’t have to feel like an existential dilemma. Bringing more voices together can create harmony, and harmony is not all voices singing the same note. It’s different notes forming the chords that make beautiful music.
Whether it’s Idaho, Georgia, or Vermont, reaching out to others we might not agree with, sharing our stories, and toning it down can help us see our common humanity. That sharing and knowing our stories helps us remember when we disagree, to do so civilly.
A brighter, sustainable future needs us to.
Representative Mike Mrowicki
Windham 4

###

 

About NICD, the National Institute for Civil Discourse 

NICD works to build the nation’s capacity to engage our differences constructively. In 2011, the University of Arizona created NICD after the Tucson shooting that killed six people and wounded another thirteen, including former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. In the weeks prior to the shooting, Congresswoman Giffords was already in discussion with the University of Arizona about creating a center that would focus on improving the quality of discourse. The galvanizing power of that event brought together founding honorary co-chairs George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and an impressive bipartisan group of other leaders to honor Congresswoman Giffords’ vision.

NICD’s State Legislative Program is one of our most important programs that creates and strengthens bipartisan relationships through mutual, trust-based, and effective communication in state legislatures around the country.

NICD offers Americans a variety of opportunities and resources to engage differences constructively at https://civildiscourseinstitute.org/.

Share