We Need Democracy

Our health is in danger. Our economy is coming apart. And we face a crisis of leadership. People are scared. And democracy is at risk.

On March 26 we partnered with NEO Philanthropy to host a National Voting Rights Convening. We were supposed to spend two days together in Austin. We had a four hour virtual conference instead. We were almost 200 people from all over the country. Lawyers, activists, advocates and organizers who spend their every day working to protect and expand the franchise.

On April 6 the courts blocked an effort to postpone the Wisconsin election. The state sought to ready itself for voting during this pandemic, but the judges did not allow it. It was the latest blow in a well documented effort to suppress voter participation in our country.

Democracy is the bedrock. It is the very ground upon which we get to contest the future we want to build. We have always had to fight for it. It was not designed to include all. But we have made hard earned gains. We have faced down dogs and firehoses. Defeated poll taxes and literacy tests. 

And there is still so much to do.

We need democracy. We need more of it. And we need it now more than ever.

The choices we make today will define a generation.

We need all states to make it easy to vote by mail. We need rank voting. We need public finance for campaigns. We need to reimagine participation.

What we did on March 26 was a tiny step in a process that has taken generations. But we were honored to participate. And we were proud to adapt. My Operations Director Austin Jade masterfully handled video conferencing technology so that we could have a dynamic and engaging gathering. I adapted my facilitation style so that I could bring the best of what I do to a world that is dramatically more virtual than it was a month ago. 

We have to do this over and over again. We must find new ways to gather. To connect. To think together. To shape the evolution of consciousness and culture. To let government know we are watching. And to take government into our hands.

Now, more than ever, we need to practice being free.