Senator Ben Cardin – Restoring civility in politics

After a long and celebrated career in politics, Senator Ben Cardin (Pitt ’64) retired from office in 2025, but he continues to champion the tenets of public service that make our government truly unique. Cardin and his wife, Myrna, have launched an educational campaign with the goal of opening dialogue, respectful debate, and active citizenship.

Cardin said, “The goal of the program is to educate future leaders in responsible civic engagement that requires them to be knowledgeable and understand the issues. It encourages them to be good listeners, as well as advocates, who are willing to compromise in order to reach common solutions.”

Restoring civility in politics through education

The Cardins envision engagement at the college and community level as the cornerstone of fostering open dialogue, building community and strengthening democracy. They are committed and engaged through multiple initiatives.

Launched in 2025, the Ben and Myrna Cardin Center for Civic Engagement and Civil Discourse at Towson University is a dynamic hub for open dialogue, respectful debate and active citizenship. Its mission is to promote constructive dialogue on critical societal issues through student engagement, faculty collaboration and community programming.

In October 2025, Cardin was invited to speak at “The American Experience Distinguished Speaker Series” at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh. His lecture was entitled: Restoring Civility: How to Advocate and Compromise; the Role of Partisan Politics.

Though the program just started, Cardin said, “We have visionary plans to expand to other types of activities, including student engagement, and directly through graduate assistance through fellowships.”

The importance of civil political discourse

Cardin is dedicated to this cause because as Americans, we find that we are more politically divided than ever before. But how did we get here? 

Cardin shared his thoughts, “Our nation is divided, and our institutions reflect the public, and we find that there’s a great deal of concern about where our nation is heading. Yet there’s total disagreement by a significant population on both sides as to the cause, and it’s caused a division in our political system. There’s a lot of anxiety out there.”

“Leadership has not been courageous enough to bring this nation together. Instead, they have politicized the division and have given oxygen to hate, to conspiracy theories and just deepening the division in our country. This is somewhat of a factor that our two major political parties have both been taken over by either right-wing or left-wing politics. That does not give a lot of reward for those who want to try to find common solutions.”

Cardin believes there is a light at the end of the tunnel saying, “I think we’re going to get through all this. It doesn’t mean we won’t be different. America’s reputation globally, and our support of democratic institutions has been compromised. It’s not just a national trend, it’s a global trend. In the last 20 years we’ve seen a significant decline of democratic states and institutions. So the light at the end of the tunnel will be a different country, but one that will still be a democratic country, and one that will still be a leader in the world.”

A dedicated lifelong public servant

Less than two years after he earned his undergraduate degree from Pitt, Ben Cardin launched what became an extraordinary career in government service when he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates as a 23-year-old law student.

He served in the Maryland House for twenty years, including eight years as Speaker. He was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he also served for twenty years, before being elected to the U.S. Senate for three successive terms. He is known as a human rights advocate, a leader in healthcare and retirement security, and a champion for clean water.

The most rewarding part Cardin found about being an elected official is that, “It gives you a direct seat at the table to bring about change. You can help people affect lives. I look back at my legislative accomplishments, and I take great pride in literally saving people’s lives, being the voices for people who otherwise would not have a voice, and trying to make our environment better for future generations.”

Cardin said that one of his colleagues in the Senate joked, “the only way you can get out of the United States Senate is that you’re going to be taken out in a cart.” Cardin chose to leave on his own accord to spend more time traveling with his family and enjoy the things he loves.

Not Four Years, But a Lifetime.

A dedicated believer in our fraternity motto, Cardin keeps in touch with his Pilam brothers. He vacations with fraternity brothers, and regularly attends Pilam Pitt reunions.

He said of his Pilam brothers, “I think it’s a mystic chemistry that the traditions lead us in the right direction. The brothers did a great job in selecting people that are compatible with the principles of Pilam.”

He has strong bonds with his Gamma Sigma brothers who gave him an impromptu boost during his first Senate campaign in 2006. He said, “Ten or twelve of my fraternity brothers came in to help me campaign during the last two weeks of the campaign. It’s a personal friendship.”