By Andy Brack | If there’s anything that stood out in this week’s scathing criminal indictments of former President Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election, it’s how serious the threat was to American democracy.
Now that Trump, the leading GOP candidate for president in 2024, will face a reckoning on his attempt to keep power in 2020, you may wonder what can be done to buttress our democracy and make it stronger in the years ahead so that what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, doesn’t happen again.
The answer comes from two words: You and participation.
If we are to reinvigorate American democracy, we must be intentional about strengthening our communities from neighborhoods to towns, counties and states.
Consider your local bookshop. Not only is it a place where you can find entertainment and new ideas, but local booksellers spend an enormous amount of time curating a selection of books to appeal to and inform their communities. Yes, they want to sell books, but they know that if they pick books that reflect their community’s spirit and mores, they’ll pull people together, launch discussions and help residents to see things in new ways – all of which strengthen community ties and democratic values.
“Independent bookstores foster democracy by providing meaningful backstop to misinformation, disinformation and censorship,” said Charleston bookseller Julian Buxton, co-owner of Buxton Books.
Libraries are much the same. Go to one soon and you’ll see how the professionals have displays of books to engage your brain by offering interesting, relevant topics about what’s going on.
So here’s a short list, in no particular order, of how you can proactively promote democracy by getting off the couch and getting more involved in your community:
Read banned books. If somebody doesn’t want you to read To Kill a Mockingbird or some other classic, it’s because there are ideas in there that scare them – and might get you to think. Do you really want somebody else telling you what you can and can’t read?
Support local newspapers. They are incubators of community values and are vital knitters for keeping the fabric of a community strong. But if you don’t advertise with them or subscribe to the newspaper, it can’t stay in business. Two of South Carolina’s 46 counties no longer have weekly newspapers. In neighboring Georgia, 16 of 159 counties no longer have newspapers. Imagine what’s not happening there as a force that pulls people together?
Volunteer somewhere. Get out of your comfort zone and find a place where you can join with other people and help with something you care about. It will deepen your sense of community, which will make democracy stronger.
Reduce social media. If you rely on Facebook and other outlets’ algorithms to push information they think you will like, you’ll miss a lot of stuff that could change your mind on issues. Get out of the echo chamber. And guard against foreign-owned media outlets that may be pushing disinformation and misinformation.
Be cautious about hot-button issues. The current rage finds conservatives going nuts over “wokism,” which is nothing more than a modern-day way to scare you that somebody is trying to take away your guns, values, job or insert the appropriate outrage. But think more deeply. If they don’t want you to be awake, they are really saying they want you to be asleep. Why? So they can do what they want without you paying attention. There’s no way that’s going to be good for democracy.
Get involved in the political process. Vote. Work or give money to candidates. Write letters to the editor. Contact your local, state or federal representative when you don’t agree. Attend public meetings to hold public officials accountable.
Respect the rights of others. Just as you may not want to be told how to think or act, others may feel the same about their beliefs or behaviors. Don’t engage in issue-related road rage or the similar grumpy codger syndrome. Listen to other perspectives and have civil engagements.
There are dozens of other ways that you can promote democracy. What would you suggest?
Andy Brack, editor and publisher of the Charleston City Paper and Statehouse Report, last week was named first-place winner for political columns in the 2023 national contest by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!