Dusty Johnson: America needs more places like Northern State's civic engagement center

South Dakota's lone U.S. representative is excited about Northern State University's new Center for Public History and Civic Engagement.

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., was the guest speaker at Northern's grand opening celebration for the center in the Centennial Rooms of the student union. Northern President Neal Schnoor said Monday's event christens the center, which aims to advance public education and greater civic knowledge.

"I think this is a beautiful project," Johnson said. "I feel great about this center. I think America needs more like this."

Johnson said when it comes to bipartisanship, there's a supply problem.

"I think we all want to start by acknowledging that rage and fear are incredible short-term motivators," he said, adding that on the flipside, those two things are lousy long-term motivators because businesses would not survive if built on them.

Johnson said that as an elected official, he tries to make politics more about addition and multiplication as opposed to subtraction and division, although he realizes there are rewards for bad behavior, like higher returns on fundraising campaigns.

He is also a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, which was established in 2017 and is comprised of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats all working to find common ground on issues. Johnson said the goal of the caucus is to bring people with liberal and conservative philosophies together to draft legislation that can be passed.

Asked by a member of the audience to explain more about the caucus and what it's like, Johnson said his first two years with the group were definitely a more positive and rewarding experience than this past year.

"Many Democrats blame Republicans for Jan. 6," he said, "and so many Republicans are upset with the idea that (President) Joe Biden came promising unity and found one-party solutions."

Johnson, however, is confident the temperament will improve and he looked to his friendship with fellow Problem Solvers Caucus member U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minnesota, a an example.

"I have profound disagreements with my friend Dean Phillips," he said. "There are clearly knuckleheads in each party. When we behave ourselves — even though we vote differently — when we can have a friendship that rises above that rancor, it sends a message."

Johnson said one of the reasons he's so excited about Northern's Center for Public History and Civic Engagement circles back to something he heard from Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, who recently sat down with the Problem Solvers Caucus.

"He said the state of your politics is a global security threat," Johnson said. "The fact that we can't talk about policy in a way that's respectful is a security risk. I think that's a damn shame."

One of the last questions Johnson was about how to improve literacy among Americans with respect to history, especially when students aren't required to take the courses in college that would get them engaged.

Johnson agreed, noting that studying a foreign language for three years doesn't make anyone an expert in that language.

In addition to education, Johnson said the bigger issue is having fewer people engaged in their communities than in the past.

"You can't know civics by learning it in high school," he said. "Politics is not a spectator sport."

 As for solutions, Johnson said people can get angry at the toxicity and see if there's a place for them, but he also also mentioned three recommendations for everyone:

Invest in responsible journalism. As an example, he pointed to a magazine subscription he has that focuses on engaging him with an issue as opposed to enraging him.

Don't let the bullies and the trolls on social media platforms discourage political engagement. "I don't think the world needs less political engagement, we need more."

Once a day, take a moment to amplify a constructive viewpoint with a thumbs up on Facebook or a heart on Twitter.