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Strengthening Democracy

A collection of 56 issues

What To Do Now

A common scene: Between work meetings, an unassuming chap takes a quick scan of the headlines. His brow furrows. His shoulders slump. His heart is now sinking like the Titanic. And this mere mortal, so dismayed that today's headlines are in fact worse than yesterday's, does

What's As Contagious As Fear

On a quiet spring morning, the man in well-worn flannel eases himself down to sit on his front stoop. At his feet, there is a large cat. The news today is all tectonic plates shifting, shattering. But here is this gentle pair in a shaft of April light. The man

Two Things We Can Do to Strengthen Democracy Today

A few insights to set the mood: "The only recognizable feature of hope is action." Grace Paley, short story writer. "What if the mightiest word is love?" Elizabeth Alexander, a poet who once taught at the University of Chicago, where she met a community organizer who

Where the Saviors Are

"K-I-D!" Coach Murphy bellowed from the pool deck at swim meets when I would ask him how our team was doing. "Don't WASTE my time with that. Go swim your heart out and get me a BETTER score." So I'd refasten my

Two Words Good Politicians Don't Hear Enough Right Now

My inbox is a big mountain of demands, the Congressional staffer told me. Make a statement about this now, introduce this bill, join that caucus, just plain stop the madness. And the kicker, she continued, is when we do what someone asks of us, nine times out of 10, we

A Strategic Way to Make Your Voice Heard with Congress (From Someone Who Used to Work There)

First, let's address the elephant sitting in many rooms right now: Congress still matters. Yes, they pass an unadmirable number of bills (1-2%), making it hard to figure out what the combined 535 members (100 Senators, 435 House members) of this august body do most of the time.

Ways to Win the Day Right Now

When I drove by the assisted living facility on a cold, lightless February day, a group of residents, some in wheelchairs, some with walkers, were posted on the corner waving homemade signs: "HONK FOR PEACE!" The word win comes in part from the Old English winnan meaning to

How to Stop Giving the Powerful More Power + Build Up Our Own Instead

Years ago, I knew a woman who worked at a muscle magazine. She told me that before photoshoots, some bodybuilders would inject a kind of filler into their muscles to temporarily make them look bigger. It's very dangerous, and very effective. It creates the appearance of strength, though

A Gentle Guide For Hard Times

This is a noisy season, isn't it? Rapidly accumulating headlines on top of posts on top of podcasts on top of people at the gym saying, "Can you believe that they're going to..." We couldn't be blamed in this young year for

Which Politicians We Should Pay Attention to Right Now

"Folks come to Washington to do one of two things, " Senator Mitch McConnell said from the Senate floor one December day. "To make a point. Or to make a difference." The politicians who're in Congress to make a point might be making the finest