“Civic life is the life we live in dealing with problems of common concern.”
David Tucker and Nathan Tucker
Music and Civic Life in America

This project is about politics at retail. It is not as much about politicians or ideology as it is about the way individual citizens involve themselves in civic processes. It is about being heard: face-to-face in personal discussions, somewhat more formally at lectures, debates, and meetings, and with rhetorical fervor at demonstrations. Civics is about the organs of government, but also what people take upon themselves to do for the communities in which they live. Furthermore, it is about the way they confront the symbols, and participate in the ceremonies, that define American democracy.

Clergy confer before rally in favor of Ground Zero mosque, Church of Saint Peter, Lower Manhattan, September 12, 2010