Over the last several years I taught a course called “Democracy Lab” through the University of Missouri’s Osher Institute. Class members ranged from their late 50s to 90s in age, came from a wide range of backgrounds, and spanned the political spectrum. Most signed up because they wanted to have dialogue with others in the community and to explore their thoughts in civil ways. Several reported that this was increasingly difficult to do with family and friends.
Through the various semesters class members learned and practiced civil dialogue skills while exploring a wide range of material, including many articles related to current events as well as books that illuminated systems underlying our political and economic life. Our conversations were thoughtful, mostly calm, and always interesting. Many members of the class signed up for multiple semesters, finding the exchanges enriching and rewarding. Some made new friends, and others reported repairing relationships with friends and family members using the skills they had learned.
In this series of posts, we will explore some of the lessons from Democracy Lab that may be useful to others. At the end of each post we will share some related resources.
Two overall lessons are worth noting at the outset: First, the sheer volume of information pushed at us through various sources, particularly social media, can be disorienting and discouraging. Scheduling time simply to think about what you believe and why can be steadying. One of our classes developed a guide to help you do just that.
Second, although democracy can be messy, chaotic, and frightening, it is worth preserving. Only democracy provides the freedoms to think and speak that we often take for granted. The idea that there is a simpler or safer alternative is a mirage. If enough citizens are willing to work with each other to study and understand where the dysfunctions are in our sclerotic system and to hold elected officials accountable, then it is possible for change to happen and happen quickly. Alexander de Tocqueville observed as much when he toured the United States in the early nineteenth Century:
“Democracy does not give people the most skillful government, but it produces what the ablest governments are frequently unable to create, namely, an all-pervading and restless activity, a superabundant force, and an energy which is inseparable from it, and which may, however unfavorable circumstances may be, produce wonders.”
It is our responsibility as citizens to harness that energy to create the society in which we wish to live.
Further Reading:
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum
It’s Up To Us by John Kasich
Them by Ben Sasse
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