“…We here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have
a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Many people today fail to appreciate that at the time of the Gettysburg
Address, democracy had failed to develop elsewhere in the world as it
had in the United States. Even in England, adult suffrage was severely
restricted.
As Lincoln recognized, democracies are fragile. They require constant
care and attention in order to survive and prosper. This portion of
our website is devoted to alerting citizens to challenges to our democracy
in the early years of the 21st century.
With everything else happening in our society, some would ask why we
should talk about something as esoteric as “democracy.”
There are very real threats to our democracy today that must be openly
discussed if they are to be successfully addressed. In my campaign,
I talk a lot about the way political money is undermining and corrupting
our democracy. Others express concern about threats to our civil liberties,
low levels of civic and political engagement, deteriorating social discourse,
and the ineffective functioning of the marketplace of political ideas
and information.
Democracy is like the engine of a large ship. As long as the engine
is running, pumps can purge the bilge, the propeller is driven, lights
and navigation equipment function. If the engine should fail, the ship
is at the mercy of nature, or forces less benign. Let’s work to
keep that engine running.
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Political
Money: A Citizen's Survival Guide
League of Women Voters
The League has long championed clean politics and offers a place
for women (and increasingly men) to work for better government.
Center for
Public Integrity A good web resource of investigative journalism
focusing on governmental ethics at the federal level.
Michigan Campaign Finance Network
This is mostly a one-person operation, but that person, Rich Robinson,
energetically assembles and disseminates the best information around
about campaign finances in Michigan. See especially their report
on the 2006 elections.
Michigan
Secretary of State Searchable Campaign Finance Database From
here, you can do a little digging and discover, for example, contributors
to legislative candidates in Michigan or lobbyists expenditures
in wining and dining legislators.
Project Vote Smart This
is a terrific, nonpartisan organization that collects and disseminates
information about candidates. Questionnaires are sent to all candidates
in the general election, but party leaders in Lansing direct many
candidates to refuse to participate. Campaign finances
are also examined.
http://www.commoncause.org/
FollowTheMoney.org
is an organization devoted to providing information on political
money in all 50 states.
CleanUpWashington.org
is an arm of Public Citizen, a broadbased organization scrutnizing
lobbying and political money in Washington. They are particularly
critical of the effectiveness of the Federal Election Commission
in enforcing campaign finance laws.
OpenSecrets.org You will
find some interesting information here on 527 political advocacy
groups.
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Tim's Recommended Reading and Viewing
on Challenges to our Democracy
1. Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing
Democracy to Life by Frances Moore Lappe. A
call for citizen action to restore participatory democracy.
2. A
Culture of Corruption: Let's Save Our Democracy by Getting Money
Out of Politics an e-article by Bill Moyers. Moyers
makes the case for major reform of campaign finance in the United
States.
3. The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot
by Naomi Wolf. This little book discusses challenges to our civil
liberties in the current political environment, placing these challenges
into historical context.
4. The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How to Get It
Back by Andrew Sullivan. Sullivan offers a thoughtful
commentary on the intermixing of religion and politics on the political
right.
5. The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics
in the Twenty-First Century by Robert McChesney.
Do you worry that the print and broadcast media today are owned
by a handful of large corporations? Read this book and
you will.
6. Dan Rather Reports: The Best Congress Money Can Buy
(DVD - 2007) This is a terrific 60 minute video.
I have a copy of this if you would like to borrow it. The
candor of federal lobbyists will surprise you.
7. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age
of Show Business by Neil Postman. A thought
provoking book on the impact of television on social discourse in
America. A good summary and review can be found here.
8. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
by Robert Putnam. This is a personal favorite. Whenever
I need an "extra assignment" for a student, undergraduate
or graduate, I have them read this book.
9. The Assault on Reason by Al Gore (2007). See
especially Chapter Three, "The Politics of Wealth", and
Chapter Eight, "Democracy in the Balance."
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Thanks to a reform-minded young supporter for
the original artwork to the left. Do you have a young artist in your
family who would like to make a supportive poster or drawing? Send
us a digital photo/image of your artwork and we will happily add it
to our collection. |
