SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Why We Are Joining the March on Harrisburg
A vibrant pro-democracy movement is on the march
Apr 25, 2017
A little over a year ago, we embarked on a journey that would forever change our lives. With Democracy Spring, we marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. and then risked arrest in front of the Capitol. Our demands were simple: get big money out of our political system and end the systematic assault on voting rights.
We admit that before the march we weren't sure what to expect. A week and a half walking with nothing to do but count the miles? It sounded grueling. But how wrong we were. Our days filled up with laughter, learning, and new friendships--one of which, our own, turned into the book Daring Democracy inspired directly by our experience of that march.
"Step-by-bold-step a Democracy Movement is growing in America."
We were particularly struck by the emotional thrill. Yes, we know, it's not exactly what most people first associate with democracy. We, though, experienced lasting emotional shifts--that of being a part of something bigger than ourselves, which made possible the satisfaction of overcoming fear, bonding with strangers we would never otherwise have met, and realizing our own power as citizens in taking responsibility for, or "ownership" of, our society's biggest problems. When we sat down to put our experience to words, we came to call these emotions the Thrill of Democracy.
After two weeks of protest with Democracy Spring, we did not, of course, reform America's broken democracy. Given a decades-long, billionaire-funded campaign undermining democracy, especially from the right, to do so would have required hundreds of thousands taking to the streets in sustained protest. Their actions would have to make politicians' anti-democracy tactics so toxic that failure to enact reform would cost them their jobs.
In the future, we believe this breakthrough is possible. But for those few weeks in April our deepest hope for Democracy Spring was that it would inspire those participating and those observing to take the struggle for an accountable democracy to their home states; to continue to develop and help grow a grassroots movement--a Democracy Movement.
And, it's happened.
For the past year, courageous participants from Pennsylvania have been organizing a nine-day march from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, the state capitol, for democracy reforms. Their demands are common sense, non-controversial, and have huge potential impacts: Ending the state's gerrymandering (manipulation of congressional and state-district lines to control who is elected), capping gifts to state legislators, and automatic voter registration (AVR).
Needless to say, Pennsylvania could certainly benefit from these reforms.
The state is so badly gerrymandered that The Electoral Integrity Project ranked the state as tied for fifth worst for redistricting process in the nation. It scored 11 out of 100 "for the way it draws legislative and congressional district boundaries." And, shockingly, Pennsylvania is one of ten states that does not prohibit gifts to state legislators or their staff. This, according to the organizers of the March on Harrisburg, "is a large mechanism of corruption in Harrisburg."
Given that low-income Americans are less likely to register, no doubt because of greater time pressures and limited transportation, placing the burden on the state government to register citizens is a step in the right direction. Automatic voter registration can be a game changer, greatly increasing the number of people registered to vote. Oregon, which implemented AVR in January 2016, saw record gains in the number of people in their voter rolls, adding over 200,000 new voters, almost half of whom voted in November.
Step-by-bold-step a Democracy Movement is growing in America. In the last election alone, 14 of 17 movement-endorsed, democracy-reform ballot initiatives passed across the country. The March on Harrisburg is but the latest exemplar of this growing movement's power, grit, and innovation.
Perhaps most important are the courage, knowledge of democracy reforms, and smarts about strategic action embodied in the March on Harrisburg. This trio is just what's needed in today's world full of despair, the greatest of all enemies; and for which there's one sure antidote. It is taking action together. For this reason, on May 13th we will be in Philadelphia to speak and endorse this historic action.
We hope to see you there.
FINAL DAY! This is urgent.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Frances Moore Lappé
Frances Moore Lappé is the author of 20 books, beginning with the acclaimed "Diet for a Small Planet." Most recently she is the co-author, with Adam Eichen, of the new book, "Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want." Among her numerous previous books are "EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think to Create the World We Want" (Nation Books) and "Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life." She is co-founder of the Cambridge, Mass.-based Small Planet Institute.
Adam Eichen
Adam Eichen is the Campaigns Manager at Equal Citizens and co-author, with Frances Moore Lappe, of Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want (Beacon Press, 2017). Follow him on Twitter: @AdamEichen
A little over a year ago, we embarked on a journey that would forever change our lives. With Democracy Spring, we marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. and then risked arrest in front of the Capitol. Our demands were simple: get big money out of our political system and end the systematic assault on voting rights.
We admit that before the march we weren't sure what to expect. A week and a half walking with nothing to do but count the miles? It sounded grueling. But how wrong we were. Our days filled up with laughter, learning, and new friendships--one of which, our own, turned into the book Daring Democracy inspired directly by our experience of that march.
"Step-by-bold-step a Democracy Movement is growing in America."
We were particularly struck by the emotional thrill. Yes, we know, it's not exactly what most people first associate with democracy. We, though, experienced lasting emotional shifts--that of being a part of something bigger than ourselves, which made possible the satisfaction of overcoming fear, bonding with strangers we would never otherwise have met, and realizing our own power as citizens in taking responsibility for, or "ownership" of, our society's biggest problems. When we sat down to put our experience to words, we came to call these emotions the Thrill of Democracy.
After two weeks of protest with Democracy Spring, we did not, of course, reform America's broken democracy. Given a decades-long, billionaire-funded campaign undermining democracy, especially from the right, to do so would have required hundreds of thousands taking to the streets in sustained protest. Their actions would have to make politicians' anti-democracy tactics so toxic that failure to enact reform would cost them their jobs.
In the future, we believe this breakthrough is possible. But for those few weeks in April our deepest hope for Democracy Spring was that it would inspire those participating and those observing to take the struggle for an accountable democracy to their home states; to continue to develop and help grow a grassroots movement--a Democracy Movement.
And, it's happened.
For the past year, courageous participants from Pennsylvania have been organizing a nine-day march from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, the state capitol, for democracy reforms. Their demands are common sense, non-controversial, and have huge potential impacts: Ending the state's gerrymandering (manipulation of congressional and state-district lines to control who is elected), capping gifts to state legislators, and automatic voter registration (AVR).
Needless to say, Pennsylvania could certainly benefit from these reforms.
The state is so badly gerrymandered that The Electoral Integrity Project ranked the state as tied for fifth worst for redistricting process in the nation. It scored 11 out of 100 "for the way it draws legislative and congressional district boundaries." And, shockingly, Pennsylvania is one of ten states that does not prohibit gifts to state legislators or their staff. This, according to the organizers of the March on Harrisburg, "is a large mechanism of corruption in Harrisburg."
Given that low-income Americans are less likely to register, no doubt because of greater time pressures and limited transportation, placing the burden on the state government to register citizens is a step in the right direction. Automatic voter registration can be a game changer, greatly increasing the number of people registered to vote. Oregon, which implemented AVR in January 2016, saw record gains in the number of people in their voter rolls, adding over 200,000 new voters, almost half of whom voted in November.
Step-by-bold-step a Democracy Movement is growing in America. In the last election alone, 14 of 17 movement-endorsed, democracy-reform ballot initiatives passed across the country. The March on Harrisburg is but the latest exemplar of this growing movement's power, grit, and innovation.
Perhaps most important are the courage, knowledge of democracy reforms, and smarts about strategic action embodied in the March on Harrisburg. This trio is just what's needed in today's world full of despair, the greatest of all enemies; and for which there's one sure antidote. It is taking action together. For this reason, on May 13th we will be in Philadelphia to speak and endorse this historic action.
We hope to see you there.
Frances Moore Lappé
Frances Moore Lappé is the author of 20 books, beginning with the acclaimed "Diet for a Small Planet." Most recently she is the co-author, with Adam Eichen, of the new book, "Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want." Among her numerous previous books are "EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think to Create the World We Want" (Nation Books) and "Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life." She is co-founder of the Cambridge, Mass.-based Small Planet Institute.
Adam Eichen
Adam Eichen is the Campaigns Manager at Equal Citizens and co-author, with Frances Moore Lappe, of Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want (Beacon Press, 2017). Follow him on Twitter: @AdamEichen
A little over a year ago, we embarked on a journey that would forever change our lives. With Democracy Spring, we marched from Philadelphia to Washington D.C. and then risked arrest in front of the Capitol. Our demands were simple: get big money out of our political system and end the systematic assault on voting rights.
We admit that before the march we weren't sure what to expect. A week and a half walking with nothing to do but count the miles? It sounded grueling. But how wrong we were. Our days filled up with laughter, learning, and new friendships--one of which, our own, turned into the book Daring Democracy inspired directly by our experience of that march.
"Step-by-bold-step a Democracy Movement is growing in America."
We were particularly struck by the emotional thrill. Yes, we know, it's not exactly what most people first associate with democracy. We, though, experienced lasting emotional shifts--that of being a part of something bigger than ourselves, which made possible the satisfaction of overcoming fear, bonding with strangers we would never otherwise have met, and realizing our own power as citizens in taking responsibility for, or "ownership" of, our society's biggest problems. When we sat down to put our experience to words, we came to call these emotions the Thrill of Democracy.
After two weeks of protest with Democracy Spring, we did not, of course, reform America's broken democracy. Given a decades-long, billionaire-funded campaign undermining democracy, especially from the right, to do so would have required hundreds of thousands taking to the streets in sustained protest. Their actions would have to make politicians' anti-democracy tactics so toxic that failure to enact reform would cost them their jobs.
In the future, we believe this breakthrough is possible. But for those few weeks in April our deepest hope for Democracy Spring was that it would inspire those participating and those observing to take the struggle for an accountable democracy to their home states; to continue to develop and help grow a grassroots movement--a Democracy Movement.
And, it's happened.
For the past year, courageous participants from Pennsylvania have been organizing a nine-day march from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, the state capitol, for democracy reforms. Their demands are common sense, non-controversial, and have huge potential impacts: Ending the state's gerrymandering (manipulation of congressional and state-district lines to control who is elected), capping gifts to state legislators, and automatic voter registration (AVR).
Needless to say, Pennsylvania could certainly benefit from these reforms.
The state is so badly gerrymandered that The Electoral Integrity Project ranked the state as tied for fifth worst for redistricting process in the nation. It scored 11 out of 100 "for the way it draws legislative and congressional district boundaries." And, shockingly, Pennsylvania is one of ten states that does not prohibit gifts to state legislators or their staff. This, according to the organizers of the March on Harrisburg, "is a large mechanism of corruption in Harrisburg."
Given that low-income Americans are less likely to register, no doubt because of greater time pressures and limited transportation, placing the burden on the state government to register citizens is a step in the right direction. Automatic voter registration can be a game changer, greatly increasing the number of people registered to vote. Oregon, which implemented AVR in January 2016, saw record gains in the number of people in their voter rolls, adding over 200,000 new voters, almost half of whom voted in November.
Step-by-bold-step a Democracy Movement is growing in America. In the last election alone, 14 of 17 movement-endorsed, democracy-reform ballot initiatives passed across the country. The March on Harrisburg is but the latest exemplar of this growing movement's power, grit, and innovation.
Perhaps most important are the courage, knowledge of democracy reforms, and smarts about strategic action embodied in the March on Harrisburg. This trio is just what's needed in today's world full of despair, the greatest of all enemies; and for which there's one sure antidote. It is taking action together. For this reason, on May 13th we will be in Philadelphia to speak and endorse this historic action.
We hope to see you there.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.