Moore Lappe
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</font><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153); font-weight: 700;">https://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/capitalism-we-can-do-better-20190305</span></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font color="#003399" size="2"><b>
</b></font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font color="#003399" size="2" style="font-size: small;"><b>lappe
</b></font><div style="font-size: small;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div style="font-size: small;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">rural city co-op</font></div><div style="font-size: small;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/how-to-reinvent-a-rural-economy-100-at-a-time-20190306">https://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/how-to-reinvent-a-rural-economy-100-at-a-time-20190306</a></font></div><div style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">
</font></div></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-a368e8ec-eddd-f3cf-81d6-f84e54841df4"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">frankie lappe</span></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Opening note : Why we had to write this book -- Part I. Rethinking the crisis. What it will take -- Bringing down the thought barriers -- Part II. Exposing the roots. Manipulating the mindset -- Rigging the rules -- Part III. Creating solutions together. Democracy's calling -- Meet the democracy movement -- Listen up, America! North Carolina has a story to tell -- The thrill of democracy -- Dare for democracy.</span><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">possibilist</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">we se thru cultural filters; theory affects observation</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hobbes --> Friedman --> RR magic of mkt</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">powerless</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">selfish, materialism and competitive thus no trusty in self of neighbor</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but all markets have riles, highest return to wealth</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3 am have $ = bottom 1/2</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">if i am a loser it is my fault</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 8 chapters 4 on PR</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">highly effective billionaire</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">newt letter 1980: civil war, destroy enemy</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mindset</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">filibuster, shutdown cost 24b$? 7% trust 2014</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Koch orgs? // pol operation; 3x ppl/staff GOP</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RIG the RULES: </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">up cost of elections (1/2 of 1% gave 2/3 of $)</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Devos $ --> Bopp --> CU</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lobby: 14x after Powell memo, change in nature as well as am't</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ALEC 2 years after Powell?</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">REDPMAP 30m$ dems 1.6 m votes but lost seats; </span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">history shows that it's not the magnitude of the challenge that counts, but feeling helpless/useless that paralyzes;</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change happens if: essential, possible, and ppl feel they can make a difference</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New unity: movement of movements (300 orgs, Democ Spring an Awakening)</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">70-85% ppl agree money = power; public financing of campaigns;</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">= voting rights'</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">'Field Guide to Democ</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maine 5$ from 50 ppl get public $ eg Simpson waitress</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seattle democ vouchers</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">automatic voter reg (10 states and DC --> 32</span></p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">felon vote FL 770K signatures; 60% to change state const.</span></p>
</span></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/activism/democracy-reform-tour-democracy-pennsylvania">https://www.alternet.org/activism/democracy-reform-tour-democracy-pennsylvania</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ynWcHJEfM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ynWcHJEfM</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">16 min
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH4njal5k_4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH4njal5k_4</a>
</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many Americans are distraught as tightly held economic and political power drowns out their voices and values. Legendary "Diet for a Small Planet" author Frances Moore Lappé and organizer-scholar Adam Eichen offer a fresh, surprising response to this core crisis in "Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want."</font></span></div><div><span style="white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
This intergenerational duo opens with an essential truth: It’s not the magnitude of a challenge that crushes the human spirit. It’s feeling powerless—in this case, fearing that to stand up for democracy is futile. It’s not, Lappé and Eichen argue. With riveting stories and little-known evidence, they demystify how we got here and expose the well-orchestrated effort that has robbed Americans of their rightful power. Even in this divisive time, Americans are uniting across causes and ideologies to create a new democracy movement. Millions of Americans are leaving despair behind as they push for and achieve historic change. Lappé and Eichen offer proof that courage is contagious in the daring fight for democracy.</font></span></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?302874-1/ecomind">https://www.c-span.org/video/?302874-1/ecomind</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/authors/frances-moore-lappe-0">https://www.alternet.org/authors/frances-moore-lappe-0</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/activism/democracy-movements-fight-brutal-capitalism"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.alternet.org/activism/democracy-movements-fight-brutal-capitalism</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">n this tumultuous world, one thing seems certain: today’s dire threats to our democracy did not arise out of nowhere. Every culture thrives, or not, on whether its<b> core narrative</b>—the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> causation story we tell ourselves—enhances mutual gain or spurs division. And, the narrative driving today’s unfolding catastrophe feeds the latter.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">
</font></div><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">It begins with a deep distrust of human nature.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Way back in 1651, philosopher Thomas Hobbes in <em style="">Leviathan</em> summed up our nature with the Latin proverb <em style="">Homo</em><em style="">homini</em><em style="">lupus,</em> “Man is a wolf to his fellow man.” From this thought tradition, now reinforced through much of media and advertising, we absorb the notion that humans are essentially <b>selfish, competitive, and materialistic. Yet, with this dim view of our nature, how can we possibly make society work? The dominant narrative has the answer: Just put self-interest to work.</b></span></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">So, by the end of the 1980s, the notion of a “free market” driven by calculated self-interest had risen to economic gospel. Influenced by 20th-century economists—led, for example, by F.A. Hayek and then Milton Friedman and his “Chicago School”—we’ve come to see the “free market” untethered from human meddling as an almost infallible law. It’s what Ronald Reagan called the “magic” <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=40457" style="text-decoration-line: none;">of the “marketplace</a>,” efficiently sorting out winners and losers for the benefit of all.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">With <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/books/review/dark-money-by-jane-mayer.html?r=0" style="text-decoration-line: none;">help</a> from a handful of billionaire families, this free-market ideology took hold. Since the 1970s, their funding has spread the idea of government-as-problem and market-as-solution through policy think tanks, the media, higher education, and far-right political organizing. The mindset steadily drove into private hands what had long been public goods—from the airwaves to schools to prisons—while simultaneously decimating government’s role in protecting public welfare.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Not surprisingly, <a href="https://www.people-press.org/2017/05/03/public-trust-in-government-1958-2017/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">trust in government</a> has dropped to historic lows. Only one in five of us now feels such trust, down from roughly three-quarters in the late 50s.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Taking a step back, however, we can see that no market is “free.” While all markets have rules, ours has been increasingly whittled down to just one: Do what brings highest and most immediate return to existing wealth. Following Friedman’s mantra, the sole purpose of business must be maximizing profit. </font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">With this simple logic, wealth inexorably accrues to wealth, making quickening economic inequality a given. Since 1980, the top 1 percent of U.S. earners has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/richest-americans-see-huge-growth-in-income/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">doubled</a> its share of total income. And the top one-tenth of that 1 percent did even better. Its total pre-tax income quadrupled between 1980 and 2010. Compared to Europe, America now takes the economic <a href="https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none;">inequality</a> cake.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>But Americans acquiesce, since market doctrine has convinced us to view the success of the few as deserved, or at least an inevitable side-effect of what’s conveyed to us as virtually a law of nature. </b></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>Two huge problems follow.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>First, once trapped in the myth of the free market, Americans tie their own and their compatriots’ worth to their wealth.</b> And, once accepting the notion of an unerring market rewarding those who work like the devil to succeed, it follows that those who fail to attain the “American dream” are at fault, and therefore undeserving. Representative Paul Ryan captured the outcome of this mindset when in 2012 he <a href="https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2013/feb/13/paul-ryan/has-ryan-remained-consistent-talking-about-what-h-/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">described</a> our country as divided between the “makers” and the “takers.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Plus, the aura of infallibility surrounding the market convinces many that assisting the “laggards” throws the market out of kilter, harming us all.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Then, once accepting, even unconsciously, that a market unerringly picks winners and you yourself are struggling to get by, it’s hard not to feel shame. To shield ourselves against shame, understandably many turn to blame. Especially when primed.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">Of course, you’re angry, and the blaming frame sticks even though whites have been the</span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/12/opinion/sunday/making-affirmative-action-white-again.html?r=0" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">main beneficiaries</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">by far of government rules and programs.</span>In <em style=""><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Strangers-Their-Own-Land-Mourning/dp/1620972255/?tag=alternorg08-20" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Strangers in Their Own Land</a>,</em>professor Arlie Hochschild offers a helpful metaphor with which to understand the rush to blame. She describes the economically decimated, white working-class mindset this way: You’ve been waiting in line for the American dream, all the while playing by the rules and working hard. But the line isn’t moving. (In fact, workers’ real income has hardly <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">budged</a> since the 1970s.) Then, in coded and not-so-coded terms you’re told those others—<b>people of color, immigrants, refugees—have cut ahead of you thanks to government favors and affirmative action policies.</b></font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Into this flammable mix of suffering and confusion, Donald Trump’s hate speech throws a torch. White nationalists behind the Charlottesville tragedy acknowledged that they’d felt encouraged by the president.<b> Tapping into the anger of those primed for shame and blame, Trump distracts Americans from the core, system problem—a one-rule market inexorably concentrating wealth—undermining democracy and thus our power to come together to shape solutions.</b></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><b>The second huge downside of a narrative making tightly held economic power inevitable is that almost universally it translates into tightly held political power.</b> The 2016 federal election cost <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/donordemographics.php" style="text-decoration-line: none;">$6.4 billion</a>, two-thirds of it coming from well less <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/donordemographics.php" style="text-decoration-line: none;">than 1 percent of donors</a>. Those elected are thus set up to serve the donor class, not all Americans.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In 1938, Franklin Delano Roosevelt warned Congress of the dire consequence: “[I]f the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself,” he told us, “that, in its essence, is fascism.”</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">And the cycle is self-reinforcing.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The more money drives our political choices, the more policies favor the better off, bringing still more impoverishment, suffering, and blame. Today, <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/about-wic-wic-glance" style="text-decoration-line: none;">half</a> of babies born in America are so poor they rely on public aid for sustenance, and poverty robs Americans of years of life as the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-growing-life-expectancy-gaps-mean-for-the-promise-of-social-security/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">gap in lifespan</a> between rich and poor widens. Homelessness is another measure. Not widespread until the Reagan years, it <a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2004/6/11/reagan_and_the_homeless_epidemic_in" style="text-decoration-line: none;">exploded</a> during his presidency. In 2016, more than <a href="https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homelessness-statistics/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">half a million</a>Americans were without homes.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Such outcomes are one reason we call this variant of a market economy <b>“brutal capitalism.</b>” So, what is to be done? </font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>We start by nurturing an evidence-grounded causation story—one aligned with the rich complexity of human nature and with the three essentials we need to thrive. They are a sense of personal power, meaning in our lives, and connection with community, and only inclusive, accountable democracy has a chance of making them possible.</b></font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The only way to create this new story of possibility is through our action, and it’s happening. In this dark time, a <b>vigorous and unprecedented democracy movement is emerging. </b>Led by citizens of all backgrounds—inspiring our new book, <a href="https://www.beacon.org/Daring-Democracy-P1297.aspx" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Daring Democracy</a>—it is uniting groups long focused on specific issues, from the environment to racial justice to labor, who are now joining forces with veteran democracy-reform groups to tackle big money’s grip on our elections and to ensure voting rights. Step by bold step, citizens joining in this never-more-needed movement are gaining confidence in their capacities to shape an accountable, inclusive democracy in which all voices are heard.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Because the democracy movement holds the inherent dignity of all as a core value, this rising movement can be a key in freeing us from our blaming and shaming culture and moving us toward one in which we’re all responsible and thus able to experience the thrill of democracy.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">Frances Moore Lappé is the author of 19 books, including the three-million copy </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Diet-Small-Planet-20th-Anniversary/dp/0345321200/?tag=alternorg08-20" target="blank" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">Diet for a Small Planet</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">.</span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large"> </span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">Her latest book is </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://beacon.org/Daring-Democracy-P1297.aspx&source=gmail&ust=1512846115680000&usg=AFQjCNER-jqBi39eSlQUaqWA8SwGOXI2yQ" href="http://beacon.org/Daring-Democracy-P1297.aspx" target="blank" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">, coauthored with Adam Eichen. She is co-founder of Food First and the </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://smallplanet.org/&source=gmail&ust=1512846115680000&usg=AFQjCNEcReZ_h-jid3Mpfx7Ok0E0uwWzjg" href="http://smallplanet.org/" target="blank" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">Small Planet Institute</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large">.</span></font></p><div class="bio-new body_activism" style="width: 630px; line-height: 22px; height: auto; border-top: 3px solid rgb(223, 223, 218); clear: both; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="author-bio" style=""><p style="margin: 0px 0px 22px; line-height: 32px !important;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">Adam Eichen is a member of the Democracy Matters board of directors and a fellow at the Small Planet Institute. He is the co-author, with Frances Moore Lappé, of the new book <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Democracy-Igniting-Meaning-Connection/dp/0807023817/ref%3Dsr_1_1?ie%3DUTF8%26amp;qid%3D1492023542%26amp;sr%3D8-1%26amp;keywords%3Ddaring%2Bdemocracy&source=gmail&ust=1512768207169000&usg=AFQjCNHBtpOHjbUbiBxPgGDc1tvkq37oGw" href="https://www.amazon.com/Daring-Democracy-Igniting-Meaning-Connection/dp/0807023817/?tag=alternorg08-20" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want</a>.</font></p></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.smallplanet.org/fact-sheets-and-slide-shows">https://www.smallplanet.org/fact-sheets-and-slide-shows</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.smallplanet.org/resources-living-democracy">https://www.smallplanet.org/resources-living-democracy</a></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Political Market</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mandle</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What Is and What Could Be: The Potential Impact of Small-Donor Matching Funds in New York State Elections</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michael J. Malbin</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Shadow Campaigns - The Shift in Presidential Campaign Funding to Outside Groups</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?Ian Vandewalker</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Powell Memorandum</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?Lewis F. Powell, Jr.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Koch Effect: The Impact of a Cadre -Led Network on American Politics</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?Theda Skocpol and Alexander Hertel-Fernandez</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Democracy at a Crossroads: How the One Percent is Silencing Our Voices</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?Democracy Initiative Education Fund</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bankrolling the Bench: The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2013-14</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scott Greytak, Alicia Bannon, Allyse Falce, and Linda Casey</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Secret Spending in the States</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?Chisun Lee, Katherine Valde, Benjamin T. Brickner, and Douglas Keith</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Case for Automatic Voter Registration</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brennan Center for Justice</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Captive Constituents: Prison-based Gerrymandering & the Distortion of Our Democracy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Political Participation Group of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Why Voting Matters: Large Disparities in Turnout Benefit the Donor Class</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?Sean McElwee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A Timeline: How Corporations and Labor Unions Came to Bankroll Our Nominating Conventions</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaign Legal Center</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wondering how we got to a point where the Democratic and Republican parties are each counting on about $60 million in corporate funding? See the Campaign Legal Center's timeline that shows how we got here and that it wasn't always this way.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blueprint for Democracy Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaign Legal Center, Issue One</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This report from Campaign Legal Center and Issue One (both featured in this guide) provides a comprehensive overview of how reform has been implemented across the country and best practices for legislators and advocates enacting change in their local communities. </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Democracy Agenda</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brennan Center for Justice</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On issues ranging from voting rights to money in politics to redistricting, the Brennan Center’s “Democracy Agenda” outlines several steps the next president, Congress, and the states can take to boost participation and make elections more fair for average Americans.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Our Voices, Our Democracy Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?Center for Media and Democracy, Common Cause, Demos, Every Voice, People for the American Way, Public Citizen, U.S. P.I.R.G.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Co-authored by many of the organizations in this guide, this report is a primer and a sort of "state of the movement" document at once. "This report shows where we’ve been and—more important—where we’re going."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Report</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RETURN TO TOP</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ORGANIZATIONS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">REPORTS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">BOOKS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MULTIMEDIA</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LIVING DEMOCRACY</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">RESOURCES ON</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Organizations</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Field Guide to the Democracy Movement</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Field Guide to the Democracy Movement connects activists and organizations across the country to build excitement both locally and nationally for democracy reform. Visit the Field Guide to find organizations and campaigns in your area working to expand our democracy!</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Search the Field Guide</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Business Of America Is Lobbying: How Corporations Became Politicized and Politics Became More Corporate</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lee Drutman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ratfked</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">David Daley</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The New Jim Crow</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michelle Alexander</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jane Mayer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ari Berman</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Great Suppression: Voting Rights, Corporate Cash, and the Conservative Assault on Democracy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Zachary Roth</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Capitalism v. Democracy: Money in Politics and the Free Market Constitution</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Timothy K. Kuhner</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">John Nichols</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When Money Speaks: The McCutcheon Decision, Campaign Finance Laws, and the First Amendment</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> Ronald K. L. Collins (Author), David M. Skover (Author)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republic, Lost: Version 2.0</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Lessig</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy and What We Can Do About It</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wendell Potter</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Plutocrats United: Campaign Money, the Supreme Court, and the Distortion of American Elections</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Richard L. Hasen</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">View Book</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thomas E. Mann (Author), Norman J. Ornstein (Author)</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">OPENING NOTE</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Why We Had to Write This Book</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Part I: Rethinking the Crisis</strong><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER ONE</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What It Will Take</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER TWO</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bringing Down the Thought Barriers</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Part II: Exposing the Roots</strong><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER THREE</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Manipulating the Mindset</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER FOUR</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Rigging the Rules</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Part III: Creating Solutions Together</strong><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER FIVE</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Democracy’s Calling</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER SIX</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Meet the Democracy Movement</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER SEVEN</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Listen Up, America!</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">North Carolina Has a Story to Tell</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER EIGHT</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Thrill of Democracy</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHAPTER NINE</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dare for Democracy</span></font></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://www.beacon.org/Assets/PDFs/UUACommonReadDiscussionGuide_DaringDemocracy.pdf">http://www.beacon.org/Assets/PDFs/UUACommonReadDiscussionGuide_DaringDemocracy.pdf</a></font></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><div style=""><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">We each promise:</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></div><div style="">o to speak from our own experiences and perspectives.</div><div style="">o to listen generously to the experiences and perspectives of others.</div><div style="">o to actively resist making assumptions about one another.</div><div style="">o to be mindful of “speaking up and stepping back” to ensure everyone has</div><div style="">opportunities to speak and to listen.</div><div style="">o to respect the confidentiality of personal information and stories shared here.</div><div style="">? Write on newsprint, and post:</div><div style="">o What surprised you in Daring Democracy?</div><div style="">o What emotions did Daring Democracy spark in you? Why?</div><div style="">Unitarian Universalist Association 5</div><div style="">? Write on newsprint, and set aside:</div><div style="">o What is your first memory of participating in democracy?</div><div style="">? Write on newsprint, and set aside:</div><div style="">o How are you living out our first, fifth, and seventh Principles in the context of</div><div style="">today’s democracy? What prevents you from fully expressing each Principle?</div><div style="">? Optional: Write on newsprint and set aside the first, fifth, and seventh UU Principles: (1)</div><div style="">The inherent worth and dignity of every person; (5) The right of conscience and the use</div><div style="">of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; (7) Respect</div><div style="">for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Note: The Principles</div><div style="">appear in the front matter of Singing the Living Tradition and Singing the Journey.</div><div style="">? Optional: Prepare a handout or an email of the resources s</div><div style="">...</div><div style=""><div>The abolitionists, the women’s suffrage movement, the labor movement, the civil rights</div><div>movement, the farmworkers movement: They all fought to achieve the liberty, justice, and</div><div>dignity that are guaranteed to all Americans, but which have been withheld from so many.</div><div>But after generations of progress, our democracy is slipping backwards. The twin</div><div>corruptions of big money in politics and voter suppression contradict our most deeply</div><div>held beliefs and block progress on the most urgent moral crises of our time.</div><div>To fight back we need a mass movement of civil resistance that can create a political and</div><div>moral crisis around the corruption of our democracy. We need a movement that can build</div><div>power, shift the political weather, and push through fundamental reforms.</div><div>
</div><div>Say, in these words or your own:</div><div>
</div><div>Daring Democracy documents how the wealthiest Americans, their corporations and think</div><div>tanks, and an ideology of “brutal capitalism” keep a grasp on our government so that it</div><div>cannot be “of, for, and by the people.” But then the book celebrates the energy and</div><div>potential of the pro-democracy movement of which Democracy Spring is part—a growing</div><div>movement of people working together: justice-seekers for racial equity, the environment,</div><div>reproductive rights, and more who have discovered they have a common stake in</div><div>recovering our democracy.</div><div>
</div><div>Lead a discussion with these questions:</div><div>* The authors meant to write a hopeful book. Do we share their optimism</div><div> How do we fit in</div><div>What’s Next, and Closing (10 minutes)</div><div>Invite the group to begin a conversation about actions to take individually or together. Offer one or</div><div>both of these general goals:</div><div> to better align our faith values and our political experience</div><div>* to engage with community or national partners in the movement to promote democracy</div><div>You might invite participants to self-select small groups to discuss one of these goals or a specific</div><div>proposed action</div></div></span></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div></div></div></div></div>