Five tips for explaining why democracy matters

Lessons from the TED Democracy Initiative

Some months ago, TED asked me to give a talk about democracy and authoritarianism. 

I approached it by thinking about the hundreds of conversations I’ve had over the last decade with people from all walks of life about why our democracy matters, and yet why in this moment the siren song of authoritarianism was proving so alluring.

One consistent dividing line seemed to be about choices. Whether we want the right to make choices in our lives and our politics — or whether the choices presented by modern life are overwhelming. Because abdicating our freedom to someone to choose for us offers an odd form of temporary comfort — but a comfort many in the past have come to regret seeking. So that’s what the talk tackles: the choices at the heart of democracy.

Have a look:  

The process of putting this together also helped me reflect on some lessons about how we can all communicate more effectively about our democracy and the stakes in the fight between freedom and authoritarianism. 

Here are the things I had in mind when I wrote this talk — my five tips for talking about our democracy, to anyone: 

• Emphasize agency. It all comes down to choices. Authoritarianism seeks to take away choice and agency and make people feel helpless. Our job is to remind people that we are not helpless. We do have direction over our own future if we exercise it. The choice — and the power — is ours. 

• Don’t condescend. Authoritarianism captures people for a reason: hard things are hard and it’s tempting to be told someone else will fix it. Mocking or berating people for that is unlikely to be persuasive. And authoritarians thrive when we are at each other’s throats, convinced our neighbors are our enemies. 

• Make space for good faith disagreement. Emphasize that, in a democracy, it’s ok for us to have different values, preferences, and views. In fact, it’s critical — if we all agreed on everything, we wouldn’t need democracy. But emphasizing the importance of policy & political disagreement can help explain why it’s so important we protect the processes that allow us to disagree. 

• Tell real stories about real people. “Institutions” aren’t meaningful in themselves, they only matter because they matter to real people’s lives. Find. Those. Stories.  

• Express genuine hope. At Protect Democracy, we believe that leadership requires hope. You cannot convince people to believe in our democracy unless you genuinely believe in it yourself. And you can find that hope in our history — crucible moments lead to positive change — and in the enormous coalition of people who have come together in this pivotal moment. (Look no further than the list of diverse, cross-ideological, and inspirational speakers TED brought together for this series. Watch all of their talks here.) 

But these are a starting point. I know all of us have wisdom and ideas on how to best talk about protecting and perfecting our democracy. So I would love your input and feedback — on the talk, on the above tips, and on the core question at the heart of our present moment: how do we all become the best ambassadors we can be for freedom and democracy at a time when too many of our neighbors seem inclined to turn away from it? 

What have your experiences taught about what we all can do more of? Or avoid? Feel free to share your insights in the comments or via email (digital@protectdemocracy.org). We’ll share out the best additional ideas.  

And if you’re moved to share the TED talk with others or repost this to social, please do.

Photo credit: Ryan Lash / TED

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