I LOVE the term “collective courage”. So powerful! Here is one way I’ve found to use collective courage without using social media to spread the word. I have a list of 20 people that I know are as worried about all of this as I am. How do I help them without preaching, urging, or telling them what to do? I pass on the GOOD news, no matter how small or local, along with some action websites, through a personal email account. Sometimes I cringe because I really want to honor their integrity and trust their own sense of conscience, so I always stress that there is no need to reply to me. I wonder if I make a diff? Yes, I do, and they tell me so without me asking. I’ve gotten small groups to go to rallies. I’ve rec’d thank yous. We need to remember that other people need encouragement and hope! No matter how “small” the action seems. Every. day.
Use this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress. Reach out to your own, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
Thank you for writing this piece. I read it as I was typing up a longer list of similarly fundamental words, which I agreed are most often used without genuinely understanding their true meaning. I think a series of these kinds of educational and explanatory pieces would be very beneficial and useful.
All too often words like “democracy”, “republic”, “dictator”, or “authoritarianism” are used, but how many of us (myself included) can meaningfully describe what each of these words actually mean. As a People, why is it that we want liberty and not tyranny? Why is the hard work of democracy better than authoritarianism? Americans prefer living in a democracy and republic but, take it one step further and many might struggle to tell you why. There are practical reasons why democracies and republics are preferred beyond just the vague idea that our Founding Fathers liked them.
Furthermore, democracy and other concepts do not exist in a vacuum. If we don't have democracy, that means we have succumbed to another system. With each of these ideas, it would be valuable to contrast them with what the alternative is and why they are truly worse. We need to remember not just why democracy is good, but why autocracy is bad. As a country, we have known these things before, and we must remember them now.
Some additional examples of similar words to explore and loosely contrasting words might be:
Freedom vs Oppression
Justice vs Discrimination
Liberty vs Tyranny
Democracy vs Oligarchy vs Autocracy
Republic vs Authoritarianism
Federalism vs Totalitarianism
Patriotism vs Nationalism
The list can go on, including Communism, Socialism, Fascism and more.
Frankly democracy is the wrong thing to focus on…. Rather the most power word is freedom, liberty. This concept is totally misunderstood. All the founding documents (the constitution, the Declaration of Independence) and all the major social movements understood freedom to non-dependency. Citizenship and freedom go together. Over and over - until this language of American politics and protest was forgotten - people said to live in a free condition, a free state (that is to live as a free person) you had to live in a “free state” - ie a free government. A free government is a precondition for human freedom, understood as non-dependency.
The reason you care about the rule of law, electoral accountability, and individual rights is because you care about freedom understood as living in a condition of non domination, non-dependency. The reason democracy is important - and all the institutions that make up “democracy” - is because it secures freedom, liberty.
Talking about democracy vs oligarchy or autocracy or totalitarianism is a looser.
Talking about civic patriotic freedom is a winner (and drives a political wedge, pulling libertarians away who are around 15% or more of the population.)
See Gordon wood, John Pocock, Michael Sandel, Quintin Skinner, Hannah Arendt, Bernard bailyn, Charles Taylor, Philip Pettit and many many more on the core value (freedom as nondomination, as non- dependency) at the heart of our democracy, social moments, and our civic foundational documents.
If only the think tank world could get this message, alas…
I highly recommend Timothy Snyder's recent book “On Freedom”, which describes how freedom TO live a fulfilling life is not the same as freedom FROM regulations. We’ve let people dedicated to the latter control the narrative.
This essay is good as far as it goes, but it makes a very common mistake: It leaves out any role besides voting for citizens of democracy. We should not be citizens of a democracy, however; we should be democratic citizens. That calls on us to follow an ethos that recognizes, takes seriously, and accounts for the concerns, fears, and desires of our fellow citizens and seeks just outcomes.
"Collective courage" may be part of it, but it is needed now only because we have not been behaving as democratic citizens -- not that it's entirely our fault because few people, even political scientists, ever think about what that means.
Yes. I have been advocating showing up in person for your LOCAL democracy at meetings of your city council, county board, school board, library board, township, etc. There’s a meeting every week.
One of the roots of our current crisis is the fact that our representatives do not loose elections in far too many places. Gerrymandering means that they can support unpopular policies (and they’re all unpopular) without loosing elections. That and the distorted news environment of Fox and Sinclair.
I greatly appreciate how you are expanding upon the commonly held, but narrow view, of what democracy is in this article. And I think how we conceive of democracy goes even further—beyond the institutions and principles. It’s also about how we the people choose (or not) to participate, how we organize to advocate for change and uphold institutions, and how we navigate our relationships with other peoples, governments, and leaders around the world. Democracy is the top of the three-legged stool. The legs upholding it up are us, and how we show up to stand up for it.
Democracy is great for business competition and ultimately benefits consumers and the public. Unfortunately, rich people already made it want to stifle competition so they stand at the top while overall economy suffers.
Good piece. We need more local examples of how corruption and authoritarianism manifest in people's daily lives. How can it infect local democracy?
Even people who are disgusted at the Qatari airplane “gift” (grift) don’t realize how they will be affected, it’s too far away, too abstract. How do you convince them that the eventually outcome might be that the drunk driver who kills your kid gets off because they bribe a judge?
The term “competitive authoritarian” government is a terrible misnomer. The very point of that kind of government is that it’s not competitive. Just call it authoritarian.
I think the level of inequality matters as well. The extreme inequality in slavery and genocide is diminished, but not gone. The high use of fossil fuels is a temporary substitute. Inequality has been increasing since Reagan greatly reduced taxes and estate taxes on the rich. The extreme inequality that has developed now to a system where politicians can get enough money from some donors that they don't actually listen to their constituents much. Inequality destabilizes society and undermines democracy.
Ben, your thoughts in this article are deep and very helpful. Let's hope they broaden the number of citizens who are concerned about our country. Please see my Substack Congress is Vital, https://tommast.substack.com/p/congress-is-vital-ff6 . I will begin a series on the out-of-control federal debt on June 1, then follow with a longer series on electoral changes needed for Congress. Tom Mast
I LOVE the term “collective courage”. So powerful! Here is one way I’ve found to use collective courage without using social media to spread the word. I have a list of 20 people that I know are as worried about all of this as I am. How do I help them without preaching, urging, or telling them what to do? I pass on the GOOD news, no matter how small or local, along with some action websites, through a personal email account. Sometimes I cringe because I really want to honor their integrity and trust their own sense of conscience, so I always stress that there is no need to reply to me. I wonder if I make a diff? Yes, I do, and they tell me so without me asking. I’ve gotten small groups to go to rallies. I’ve rec’d thank yous. We need to remember that other people need encouragement and hope! No matter how “small” the action seems. Every. day.
I think democracy includes not taking the last of the coffee so that the next person will get some, or making a fresh pot when it's all gone.
Every act of courage makes the next one more likely
Use this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress. Reach out to your own, as well as those in other states on a specific committee important to a topic you’re sharing. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit
Megan, your spreadsheet is quite impressive and demonstrates your commitment to the resistance. Thank you for sharing it here.
Thank you for writing this piece. I read it as I was typing up a longer list of similarly fundamental words, which I agreed are most often used without genuinely understanding their true meaning. I think a series of these kinds of educational and explanatory pieces would be very beneficial and useful.
All too often words like “democracy”, “republic”, “dictator”, or “authoritarianism” are used, but how many of us (myself included) can meaningfully describe what each of these words actually mean. As a People, why is it that we want liberty and not tyranny? Why is the hard work of democracy better than authoritarianism? Americans prefer living in a democracy and republic but, take it one step further and many might struggle to tell you why. There are practical reasons why democracies and republics are preferred beyond just the vague idea that our Founding Fathers liked them.
Furthermore, democracy and other concepts do not exist in a vacuum. If we don't have democracy, that means we have succumbed to another system. With each of these ideas, it would be valuable to contrast them with what the alternative is and why they are truly worse. We need to remember not just why democracy is good, but why autocracy is bad. As a country, we have known these things before, and we must remember them now.
Some additional examples of similar words to explore and loosely contrasting words might be:
Freedom vs Oppression
Justice vs Discrimination
Liberty vs Tyranny
Democracy vs Oligarchy vs Autocracy
Republic vs Authoritarianism
Federalism vs Totalitarianism
Patriotism vs Nationalism
The list can go on, including Communism, Socialism, Fascism and more.
Frankly democracy is the wrong thing to focus on…. Rather the most power word is freedom, liberty. This concept is totally misunderstood. All the founding documents (the constitution, the Declaration of Independence) and all the major social movements understood freedom to non-dependency. Citizenship and freedom go together. Over and over - until this language of American politics and protest was forgotten - people said to live in a free condition, a free state (that is to live as a free person) you had to live in a “free state” - ie a free government. A free government is a precondition for human freedom, understood as non-dependency.
The reason you care about the rule of law, electoral accountability, and individual rights is because you care about freedom understood as living in a condition of non domination, non-dependency. The reason democracy is important - and all the institutions that make up “democracy” - is because it secures freedom, liberty.
Talking about democracy vs oligarchy or autocracy or totalitarianism is a looser.
Talking about civic patriotic freedom is a winner (and drives a political wedge, pulling libertarians away who are around 15% or more of the population.)
See Gordon wood, John Pocock, Michael Sandel, Quintin Skinner, Hannah Arendt, Bernard bailyn, Charles Taylor, Philip Pettit and many many more on the core value (freedom as nondomination, as non- dependency) at the heart of our democracy, social moments, and our civic foundational documents.
If only the think tank world could get this message, alas…
I highly recommend Timothy Snyder's recent book “On Freedom”, which describes how freedom TO live a fulfilling life is not the same as freedom FROM regulations. We’ve let people dedicated to the latter control the narrative.
This essay is good as far as it goes, but it makes a very common mistake: It leaves out any role besides voting for citizens of democracy. We should not be citizens of a democracy, however; we should be democratic citizens. That calls on us to follow an ethos that recognizes, takes seriously, and accounts for the concerns, fears, and desires of our fellow citizens and seeks just outcomes.
"Collective courage" may be part of it, but it is needed now only because we have not been behaving as democratic citizens -- not that it's entirely our fault because few people, even political scientists, ever think about what that means.
Yes. I have been advocating showing up in person for your LOCAL democracy at meetings of your city council, county board, school board, library board, township, etc. There’s a meeting every week.
https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahagreen1/p/local-action-for-democracy
Great article. No freedom without democracy. Democracy = freedom.
One of the roots of our current crisis is the fact that our representatives do not loose elections in far too many places. Gerrymandering means that they can support unpopular policies (and they’re all unpopular) without loosing elections. That and the distorted news environment of Fox and Sinclair.
I greatly appreciate how you are expanding upon the commonly held, but narrow view, of what democracy is in this article. And I think how we conceive of democracy goes even further—beyond the institutions and principles. It’s also about how we the people choose (or not) to participate, how we organize to advocate for change and uphold institutions, and how we navigate our relationships with other peoples, governments, and leaders around the world. Democracy is the top of the three-legged stool. The legs upholding it up are us, and how we show up to stand up for it.
Democracy is great for business competition and ultimately benefits consumers and the public. Unfortunately, rich people already made it want to stifle competition so they stand at the top while overall economy suffers.
Good piece. We need more local examples of how corruption and authoritarianism manifest in people's daily lives. How can it infect local democracy?
Even people who are disgusted at the Qatari airplane “gift” (grift) don’t realize how they will be affected, it’s too far away, too abstract. How do you convince them that the eventually outcome might be that the drunk driver who kills your kid gets off because they bribe a judge?
I've just added this substack to my list of required reading. Great bit of writing ... thank you!
The term “competitive authoritarian” government is a terrible misnomer. The very point of that kind of government is that it’s not competitive. Just call it authoritarian.
I think the level of inequality matters as well. The extreme inequality in slavery and genocide is diminished, but not gone. The high use of fossil fuels is a temporary substitute. Inequality has been increasing since Reagan greatly reduced taxes and estate taxes on the rich. The extreme inequality that has developed now to a system where politicians can get enough money from some donors that they don't actually listen to their constituents much. Inequality destabilizes society and undermines democracy.
Ben, your thoughts in this article are deep and very helpful. Let's hope they broaden the number of citizens who are concerned about our country. Please see my Substack Congress is Vital, https://tommast.substack.com/p/congress-is-vital-ff6 . I will begin a series on the out-of-control federal debt on June 1, then follow with a longer series on electoral changes needed for Congress. Tom Mast