With all the civil unrest in Arizona – mostly over immigration – Arizona would appear to have become a cactus-filled state of angry people, and a new center at the University of Arizona is being created to address just that.
Looking to promote civility in political debate, former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton will serve as honorary chairmen of what is being called the National Institute for Civil Discourse.
The University of Arizona is also where President Obama gave a nationwide address on civility after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and over a dozen others at a grocery store in Tucson last month.
The institute will focus on finding compromise among people with varying political affiliations and beliefs, and will concentrate on disagreements “from the grass roots all the way to the top.”
The Washington Post reported:
Former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) will serve as honorary co-chairmen. Board members will include former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright; Kenneth M. Duberstein, chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan; Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren; Trey Grayson, director of Harvard University’s Institute of Politics; and former representative Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.).
