Our Times Are Training Us In Democracy

As in permaculture, the problems can point us to the solutions.

In a prior post, I talked about how our current times are challenging us (and inviting us) to stand up for democracy (We’re Being Challenged to Stand Up for Democracy).  

I invite you to read that piece first, to be inspired by how critical democracy is to protect us from the horrors of dictatorship.

Today's crises are teaching us about democracy
In this post, I'll talk about an essential related point: that the events we're experiencing right now are actually teaching us all about the specifics of democracy ... why it's so important, what its key structures are, and why our ongoing participation is needed for it to survive and thrive. It’s training us to be better citizens!

Each time we see challenges to the freedom of our press, the separation of church and state, or the balance of powers between the branches of government ... we have a chance to see why those principles are not just niceties but specific elements created to help democracy function and remain.

Which helps us reclaim democracy's tools
Seeing these events this way can breathe life into our understanding of democracy’s design ... make them real for us, something beyond school books full of long-ago dates and Great Men to memorize. They can help us bring the tools forward into our times, and show that all of us are important in keeping democracy alive.

And we can see that these structures of democracy, and its lineage, are living tools that can helps us stand up as citizens for democracy. We don't have to try to create them scratch in the darkness of desperate survival, as so many before us did. (Oh good!)

And, yes, our democracy is imperfect ... partially because so many people have checked out, thinking it could be sustained without our participation and protection. 

Each generation needs to build on the work of prior ones, to keep what has been gained, and move us closer to our ideals.

However, the good news is that this crisis is waking people up to the need for us to play our roles as sovereign citizens. Our Nov. 2018 elections showed us what a difference our participation can make, bringing in new representatives committed to moving our institutions more towards sanity.

And, as more and more of us find ways to constructively participate more and more, then the structures become revitalized and available to help us overcome the greedy people who seek to manipulate the process for their own selfish gain.

This can helps us reclaim our democracy and find positive paths on so many of our shared and critical issues today.

So what can we do?
How can we understand and build on the democracy tools already available to us?

I think that a key way for us to embrace that training: by reviewing and being conversant in our country's founding document — The Constitution including its Bill of Rights. 

This critical document is our founders’ design to support democracy and avoid dictatorship.  Its key elements are there to help us exactly in times like these. Understanding this tool is mission critical for protecting our democracy. 

Then, as you watch current events, you can notice the specific violations of the Constitution that occur ... and speak to those violations in factual, nonpartisan ways ... standing up for democracy in a way that any citizen of any party might stand with you. 

That to me is a key component of retaining our democracy into the future. Because personal partisan attacks only make this a mud fight, discouraging the participation of reasonable people and reinforcing the splits in our country rather than healing them. These splits are poison to the heart of our democracy and thus our liberty and power as citizen.

Instead, my aim is that somehow in this process we find our way back to a place where all citizens can stand together higher principles, beyond party and rage. Then we can learn how to work together to figure out and work together for what is truly in our shared best interest, and to reject that which is harmful to us all. The Constitution offers us a key tool for doing that.

To learn more, I invite you to read my next post in this thread, A Key Tool for Citizens: The Constitution. 

And please let me know what you think … including what you find of interest in my offerings; what you'd like me to write about next; and what other information, resources, and ideas inspire and empower you.

~ In service,
Patricia Dines
 

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I hope you enjoyed this piece and I welcome your thoughts. Tell me what you like about it, or any other constructive thoughts you want to share. Thanks!