Democracy

Latest Posts in Democracy

Fighting for the Soul of Democracy

Our goal is to fight for the soul of democracy.  Does Democracy even have a soul? This question is posed by Dr. Peter Corning, director of the Institute for the Study of Complex Systems.  “Democracy has one overriding virtue that all the other political systems lack.  It is, at its best, “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” in Abraham Lincoln’s immortal phrase; it is self-government.”  


Does Democracy Have a Soul?

Does Democracy Have a Soul? It has to do with how the citizens view themselves, and their society, and how they relate to their government – and vice versa.  It is a shared state of mind.


Denigrating the norms of our political system

Denigrating the norms of a political system can undermine even the greatest and strongest of republics, as it transformed the 400-year-old Roman Republic into a dictatorship. This past week President Trump continued to ignore the norms of how a functioning democratic government works by finding ways to make changes without seeking approval from congress.  


NOTES FROM THE WORKING-CLASS: History Does Matter

 The  garbage room in my condo holds more than trash bins. Next to the bin designated for paper a six-foot-tall bookcase sits flush to the wall. People put the books they no longer want on the bookshelf. Most books cycle through and find a home.  Few books stay here forever with the possible exception of Bill Clinton’s memoir My Life. So last week I was astonished to find an old hardcover book stuffed inside a trash bin. It was unthinkable that anyone would throw away a book. 


November 2019 Magazine

If you feel as though you’re lost in the maize, metaphorically speaking, then you might find that the answers can be found by understanding history. In our featured article for November, History Does Matter, we look at the correlation among books, history and our democracy. If you don’t have time to read the article, you can always download our podcast.