Cape Cod Newspaper Tackles Incivility And Its Threat To Democracy

The disintegration of civil discourse in Washington has seeped into communities across the U.S., including Cape Cod. So the Cape Cod Times has decided to take on the issues of incivility, partisan gridlock and dysfunction.

"If we keep accelerating on this trajectory, we will witness the collapse of our democratic institutions," wrote editors on one of the paper's three recent front-page editorials on the matter.

For its series, the newspaper spoke with political scientists, history teachers, ministers and other leaders. The consensus is that if things stay on their current course, citizens will disengage from the political process and young people will fail to even get engaged.

But, Cape Cod Times Executive Editor Paul Pronovost told WBUR's All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins, the paper made a point to not blame the lack of civility on President Trump.