I’ll give the benefit of doubt to the new University of Austin (UATX), which can bring together a young MAGA Republican and a student activist in Black Lives Matter and help them listen to one another, politely debate, and even find a bit of common ground.
It’s a hard thing to define, this “Austin ethos”, of culture, music, livability, and a progressive outlook, all coming together for decades to make our city such a unique place. But an even harder challenge, we are discovering, is protecting and nurturing these abstract but very real civic virtues to help us chart the future amid breathtaking change – from the metamorphosing skyline to endless transportation woes to the transformation of the economy.
As a native of this city, I’m proud that we’re a microcosm in many ways of the best of future-focused America. At the same time, I have a growing concern that we also are becoming a microcosm of our nation’s new failings, in particular with the collapse of civility, the instincts of polarization, and the us-versus-them attitudes that frame so many uncompromising debates. I hardly need to mention how this collapse into grievous division is smothering us nationally, or even internationally. While writing this essay, the Wall Street Journal posted a poll finding that just 58% of Americans believe that tolerance for others is very important, down from 80% just four years ago. Sadly, the mood here is similar to this malaise at our doorstep.