At Democracy Is Us (DIU), we frequently hear the question, “What can I do?”
To effectively answer this, let’s clarify: What exactly do you want to address?
★ Getting a particular person elected?
★ Participating in the democratic process?
★ Ensuring the ongoing strength of our democracy?
★ All of the above?
★ Something else?
Reflecting on your “what” is crucial for meaningful action.
And reminding ourselves that democracy is at stake underscores the urgency and necessity of mass involvement. There are forces actively working to undermine our precious and fragile representative democracy.
As one politician said, “This is not the time to start a book club.”
The Essence of Democracy
At DIU, we passionately advocate for everyone's participation in the democratic process which is essential to having a democracy.
And we recognize that the true lifeblood of our democracy is the active participation and engagement of citizens every day to create a more perfect union.
To ensure democracy and know what it is we want to do, we need to grasp what democracy truly means. I hadn’t deeply considered this until recently myself.
Democracy is an idea.
It is not a thing, an external institution that exists separate from us “out there,” but something we must embody and practice daily. It exists in us, through us, in every conversation, action, and relationship. It requires a deep desire to govern ourselves.
The Founders’ vision adds meaning and purpose.
We can remind ourselves of what it meant to the founders as they embraced and passed on to us the idea of a representative democracy as our form of governance.
💜 Belief in Human Dignity: Every person has inherent worth and deserves a voice in their destiny.
💜 Desire for Freedom: A deep desire for freedom from oppression and the ability to speak one’s mind and pursue dreams.
💜 Hope for a Better Future: Envisioning a future of peace, prosperity, fairness, and justice.
💜 Love for Community: Valuing collaboration and mutual support to achieve great things.
💜 Commitment to Equality: Striving for equal opportunities and fair treatment for all in society as well as government.
💜 Dream of Self-Determination: Empowering individuals to elect leaders and influence laws, living lives with agency and self-respect.
💜 Vision of Compassionate Governance: A government that serves its people with compassion and commitment to the common good.
The founders’ vision was as much about the heart as it was about the mind, aiming for a nation where freedom, dignity, and equality are daily realities. Their vision was rooted in love for their fellow citizens and a deep hope for a just and beautiful future.
Falling in love with democracy
In the wonderful book Callings, the author Gregg Levoy reveals how to listen for and know what one’s calling in life is. He shared a story of someone who said that he fell in love with a river and knew he would work to preserve the environment.
Upon reading that, I realized that I didn’t feel love for democracy and the United States. I took what I have for granted.
I sat with these questions until I felt that love.
★ Why does democracy matter to me?
★ Why is it important to maintain and enhance it?
★ What do I love about democracy and the United States?
When we love something, we nurture, protect, and help it thrive.
Now We Consider “What to Do” in This Broader Context
🇺🇸 Living democracy daily as a way of life
🇺🇸 Election-related activities
Note: I have shared numerous ideas here. Please choose two or three that resonate with you to begin with. Let’s take a step or two or three at a time.
Living democracy daily
To preserve and enhance democracy, we must embrace it as a way of life, not just an activity during election years. This means:
🇺🇸 Scheduling Democracy: Decide what you are going to do and allocate time for democratic actions in your calendar.
🇺🇸 Practicing Democracy: Implement democratic principles in workplaces, schools, civic organizations, and families.
🇺🇸 Aligning Emotions with Democracy: When talking about democracy, candidates and elections, speak with hope, freedom, openness, possibility and respect. Acting out of fear, anger, resentment and righteousness only creates more of that.
🇺🇸 Using Language of Unity and Vision. Many use words that instill a sense of separation, fighting and demeaning others. We can be thoughtful in the words we use.
🇺🇸 Using Founders’ Ideas as a Guide: Assess if you are living up to the founders’ vision in all of your activities, relationships and conversations.
🇺🇸 Enhancing Community through Personal Action Steps: As well as participating in the democratic process, we can become more involved in our communities. Identify your skills and capacities that can benefit your community. Support organizations where you can apply these skills and demonstrate the strength of community.
Election-related activities
🇺🇸 Donate.
🇺🇸 Have conversations with people who are open.
🇺🇸 Volunteer for a candidate.
🇺🇸 Register to vote and vote.
🇺🇸 Register and educate voters.
🇺🇸 Become a poll worker.
🇺🇸 Get out the vote by participating in phone banks, texting, and writing postcards.
🇺🇸 Stand up to misinformation and share accurate information from reliable sources.
🇺🇸 Email and post on social media content and videos that convey hope and unity, love of democracy and country, educate, invite mass involvement in ensuring and evolving democracy and the democratic process.
🇺🇸 Visit our website’s actions page for additional ideas.
🇺🇸 Join DIU Community Gatherings for education on living democracy as a way of life, inspiration, community and to share your experiences as we learn from others.
Conclusion
💜 Each morning, ask yourself, “What can I do to keep and enhance democracy today?”
💜 Review the ideas above, decide what you want to do and schedule time for democratic activities.
💜 Stay open-minded, open-hearted, and open-spirited, embodying democracy in every interaction, in pursuit of what is good.
Peggy O'Neal, Founder, Democracy Is Us
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