- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Mary Katharine Ham
Mary Katharine Ham
Conservative Commentator, Senior Writer at The Federalist & CNN Political Commentator
Biography
Mary Katharine Ham is a CNN Political Commentator who co-moderated a 2016 GOP primary debate on ABC. She's the co-author of "End of Discussion: How the Left's Outrage Industry Shuts Down Debate, Manipulates Voters, and Makes America Less Free (and Fun)." A graduate of the University of Georgia, and fourth-generation journalist, she did a stint covering NASCAR and high-school football before embracing New Media and heading to Washington D.C. to cover national politics. A mom of two girls, she hiked Kilimanjaro on her honeymoon and is always looking for new challenges, hiking and running races all over the U.S. whenever possible, and often bringing her kids along for the ride. In 2017, Ham taught on free-speech issues as a Harvard Institute of Politics Visiting Fellow in the Kennedy School of Government. She is also on the board of the Travis Manion Foundation. Formed in memory of 1st. Lt. Travis Manion (USMC), killed in action in Iraq in 2007, this unique veteran and public service organization helps vets and families of the fallen communicate a message of duty, character, and service to communities and young people across the nation.
Seminars
Sure, free speech is a fundamental value of free societies. But embracing it is also a skill. We can wax on and on about the importance of free speech (and I will!), but it doesn't do us a lot of good if we can't practice what we preach. Embracing the *idea* of free speech feels different than the practice of letting a bunch of speech fly, even when you dislike it or disagree with a lot of it. It's sometimes uncomfortable. It's sometimes upsetting. And it takes practice. And with practice comes increased tolerance and with increased tolerance comes a more fun, rich life full of a bunch of ideas. Unfortunately, studies on free speech in younger generations, and particularly in some college campus environments, reflects a diminished understanding of the great benefits of free speech and the dangers of forgetting about them. But time and again, we see that schools and organizations and people who have thought through their commitment to free speech and put guidelines and practices in place accordingly are the ones who are able to benefit most from it, even with the most potentially controversial speakers. Let's practice together! I get disagreed with for a living. Seriously, it doesn't bother me. I enjoy it.
One of the fascinating aspects of the Trump era is the extent to which it has upended the modern understanding of politics and parties and where it was headed. Trump's ascendance revealed many things, but foremost among them: 1) That American voters are not as ideological as many operatives and Beltway dwellers were treating them, and 2) That measuring possible outcomes by the old metrics could throw observers seriously off the scent of what was actually happening in the country. In some ways, the Trump realignment is a move away from Bill Bishop's "The Big Sort," a 2004 political theory and book which posited that like-minded people clustering together physically has polarized us politically. Trump undid some of our political segregation by turning Midwestern blue-collar union men into Republican voters in 2016 and many college-educated, exurban women into Democrats. Will this switching of jerseys persist and grow through 2018 and beyond or will the system revert to the norm? And what of those who feel disoriented and suddenly politically homeless - who look at the new politics and despair of the time ideology and old metrics mattered, and feel that #LOLNothingMatters? Perhaps it's healthy that the parties and candidates are made to compete for new demographics and the politically disillusioned in ways they didn't have to several years ago.