Citizens Uniting offers a fresh perspective on the major challenges now besetting our democracy, along with some new ways of thinking about solutions. This book seeks to lengthen our time horizons by reminding readers that the major problems afflicting our democracy have roots reaching years before the 2016 election, and that efforts to fashion solutions will have to be sustained well beyond the next election.
Far more important than any one book or any one author, though, is the opportunity we all now share: the possibility of reclaiming our democracy from its multiple injuries by mobilizing the formidable problem-solving skills of its citizens. You are invited to participate in that work by adding your democratic passion and constructive skills to the resources highlighted on this webpage.
REFORM MOVEMENT
Restoring our democracy to a vibrant state of health is going to require the 21st century equivalent of the Progressive Movement of a century ago — when our ancestors succeeded against fierce opposition in giving women the vote and amending the national and many state constitutions with other remarkable and lasting reforms. Learn about today’s rising tide of democratic renewal and how you can contribute.
DEMOCRATIC STRENGTHS
Even while our major political institutions have fallen into deepening dysfunction, we have maintained a vibrant capacity to solve problems and realize opportunities closer to home. Because we so often take this self-governing vigor for granted, we are going to focus here on how this solid democratic ground right under our feet can provide the base from which we can and will rescue our floundering institutions.
RESOURCES
Citizens Uniting to Restore our Democracy is not just the title of a book — it’s a fact of life, and a very hopeful one. All across the country, new organizations are joining well-established ones with proven track records, people are writing books and articles, publishing newsletters, blogging, preparing podcasts — all in an effort to address particular wounds to our body politic, or new opportunities for healing it. You can locate many of those resources here, and tell us about others that we’ve missed.
| Reform | Democratic Strengths |
|---|---|
| General Reform | Community Building |
| Elections | Solving Problems Together |
| Campaign Finance | Giving Back |
| Gerrymandering | |
| Electoral College |
SOAP BOX
The democratic revitalization movement is going to be shaped by ongoing dialogue among all of us who see this work as a high priority. The Soap Box is one way we can practice a little democracy while we’re working together to restore it. My hope is to relate the themes of Citizens Uniting to what is happening in real time, and to expand steadily the circle of people involved in this conversation. Please join us!
GUNS, SELF-DETERMINATION and DEMOCRACY
With another spate of mass shootings this spring, the American public has once again been forced to ask why we seem incapable of doing anything about such a widely-recognized and persi [...]
Citizens Uniting Across Generations
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Democracy Finds a Champion in a Giant of American Journalism
I remember, as an undergraduate, reading Hedrick Smith’s dispatches to the New York Times from Saigon, Paris, Cairo and the American South. For me, Smith’s reporting and James Reston’ [...]
