Make Civility Win At the Ballot Box | Elect Respect

In this Civility Dispatch episode, your host Diane Kalen-Sukra reminds us that If incivility can trickle down, so can respect. And right now, one of the most powerful culture-shaping acts we have is at the ballot box.

This isn’t just about politics—it’s about the kind of world we’re creating together. Diane shares timely insights and invites you to be part of a global conversation at the upcoming Democracy & Tyranny symposium, hosted by Plato’s Academy Centre. Together, we’ll explore what’s really at stake when contempt becomes the norm—and what it takes to turn the culture around. 

From the  Elect Respect pledge to the ancient wisdom behind democratic decay, this episode makes the case for choosing leaders who live out the values our communities need to survive and thrive.

It’s not just about who we elect.
It’s about the culture we’re voting for.

Transcript

Welcome to Cultivating Civility, a podcast series featuring conversations with civic leaders and sages—as well as solo dispatches like this one—on tackling toxicity and cultivating civility in our communities. I’m Diane Kalen-Sukra, your host and author of Save Your City as well as the founder of Kalen Academy.

Today’s dispatch is about how we make civility win at the ballot box and beyond.

Civic culture doesn’t collapse overnight. It erodes gradually—through tone, trust, and behavior. And that tone is shaped by the people we elect, the way we treat them, and—just as importantly—the way we treat each other. That’s why the Elect Respect pledge matters.

Spearheaded by Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and a coalition of Canadian civic leaders, Elect Respect invites both elected officials and citizens to take a stand—for dignity, for civility, for democracy, and for the kind of civic life where disagreement doesn’t require destruction.

This initiative is a growing movement to put respect and civility back at the heart of public life—starting with how we interact and extending to who we entrust with leadership.

Take the pledge at ElectRespect.ca.

As Tommy Douglas, the Canadian statesman often credited as the father of universal healthcare, once said:

“The greatest way to defend democracy is to make it work.”

And today, that means electing leaders who live out democracy’s values—leaders who treat others with dignity, model restraint, and reinforce democratic norms in every meeting, every exchange, every decision.

Because when incivility trickles down from the top, it poisons the public square. But when integrity and respect flow from leadership, they ripple outward—raising expectations, calming tensions, and rebuilding trust.

We don’t need trickle-down incivility.

We need trickle-down ethics.

We need trickle-down respect.

We need trickle-down civility.

Two Steps Everyone Can Take

Civic culture change isn’t instant, it takes time. It takes training, leadership development, a resetting of civic norms and deep community engagement—exactly the kind of work we outline in the Roadmap to Civic Culture Renewal detailed in my book Save Your City and available to Civic Wisdom subscribers at KalenAcademy.com/newsletter.

But there are two steps everyone—citizen or civic leader—can take right now.

1. Be civil.
2. Elect civil. (And take the pledge at ElectRespect.ca.)

These are not niceties. As I wrote in my recent article published in the National Civic Review, titled “Incivility Anywhere Is a Threat to Civility Everywhere,” these steps are necessary acts of civic repair.

Because abuse and intimidation are driving public servants out of office. They are silencing diverse voices. They are weakening institutional trust. Left unaddressed, these patterns don’t just harm people—they corrode the very foundation of democracy.

When we elect leaders who govern with a servant’s heart—who treat others with dignity—we shift the civic tone. We interrupt a culture of contempt and build a climate where participation is welcome, voices are heard, and disagreement is handled with curiosity.

What the Ancients Knew

This isn’t a new insight. Plato and Socrates warned that democracies unravel when cultural norms degrade, and leadership loses its moral compass.

Socrates was concerned not just with a lack of wisdom in leadership—but with what rushes in to fill the void: ego, self-interest, manipulation, and a hunger for power unchecked by principle. When that becomes the dominant leadership style, democracy decays from the inside out.

That’s why on July 26, civic thinkers from around the world will gather for a symposium titled “Tyranny & Democracy” hosted by the Plato’s Academy Centre in Athens. 

I’ll be delivering one of the featured talks: “Diagnosing Civic Culture: Ancient Skill, Modern Necessity.” 

We’ll explore how culture collapse precedes democratic collapse—and how renewal begins not with tactics and procedures, but with tone, norms, and the character of those who lead.

Featured speakers include:

• Prof. James Romm – Bard College (Plato and the Tyrant)
• Prof. Michael Fontaine – Cornell University (How to Speak Freely)
• Robert Rosenkranz – Open to Debate (The Stoic Capitalist)
• Dr. Roslyn Fuller – Solonian Democracy Institute (Beasts and Gods)
• Prof. Angie Hobbs – University of Sheffield (Why Plato Matters Now)
• Skippy Mesirov – Healing Our Politics podcast

📅 July 26 | Free & online | Donations welcome | Register at PlatosAcademy.org

Thank you for joining me for this Civility Dispatch.

If this episode resonates with you, here are a couple of ways to act today:

➡️ Sign the pledge: ElectRespect.ca

🗓️ Register for Tyranny & Democracy at Plato’s Academy Centre – July 26 (Register at Eventbrite)

And for civic leaders who are ready to take it to the next level—
 Develop your own personalized culture transformation plan by taking the Cultivating Civility Masterclass at:

 👉 KalenAcademy.com/civility masterclass

This has been Cultivating Civility, a podcast series hosted by me, Diane Kalen-Sukra.

Let’s work together to make civility win—at the ballot box, and beyond.

Thank you!