The measure of America’s civic citizens

OPINION:

New civic data has inspired presidents, governors, mayors, business and nonprofit leaders and individual Americans to increase opportunities to serve neighbor and nation (“Measuring civic health,” Comment & Analysis, Thursday). Sounds like a good return on a very small government investment.

The genesis of the effort to collect regular information about America’s civic habits began after Sept. 11, 2001, with the inclusion of a volunteering survey in the census. President George W. Bush wanted to build on the “gathering momentum of millions of acts of kindness and decency.”

In 2005, the National Conference on Citizenship undertook to measure our civic habits, much as the government measures our economic behavior. We identified a civic core of 36 million Americans who are well-informed, attend public meetings, work together on community problems, lead clubs and associations, attend religious services, vote and volunteer. These citizens are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity and political ideology. Your editorial calls the statement that every culture contributes to our society’s rich tapestry “puffery.” Well, we have the data to prove it, and this is America’s strength.

In 2009, the bipartisan Serve America Act was passed. Republicans wanted to ensure that new investments in national service programs were balanced by revitalizing civic habits that engage citizens, not government, in solving problems.

Citizens in Florida used the data to advocate for the Sandra Day O’Connor Civic Education Act, which requires civic education to be taught and tested in middle school. This data also has prompted 17 cities and states to create their own Civic Health Index reports, funded by the private sector, to help strengthen volunteering, charitable giving, civic education and more.

Without the large sample sizes that only the federal government can provide, we could not compare communities and states to one another, and these local efforts would not have emerged. This information spawns more understanding and engagement in a system of limited government that depends on it.

JOHN M. BRIDGELAND AND DAVID B. SMITH

National advisory chairman and executive director

The National Conference on Citizenship

Washington