A majority of Pennsylvanians feel democracy is not working for them according to a recent Franklin & Marshall College poll, even as they retain a belief in some core principles of our republic — the right to speak freely without fearing government reprisals, the presumption of innocence in civil or criminal trials, among others.

So why do so many feel the government is not working for them? Some reasons are obvious: political infighting that often leads to government shutdowns, little workable consensus about how to fix problems, polarized media that focus on differences rather than commonsense solutions and putting partisan platforms before public good.

I see a prevalent, pervasive condition that jeopardizes our seemingly inability to govern ourselves — we simply are failing to adhere t

See Full Page