Participation in a Democracy: What Can I Do to Make a Difference?

Course Description

Summary

According to Larry Diamond in his lecture on "What is Democracy?" Democracy consists of four basic elements: 1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections. 2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life. 3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens. 4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens. In this moment of history, where the U.S. democracy feels threatened and democracies around the world are under stress, this seven week class will invite a conversation about how we as citizens can and have the obligation to participate in a democracy to make it work. A democracy is only as strong as its citizen participation. We will have guests visiting with us each week for our conversations to address these tenets of a democracy and to understand what we can do to keep this system of governance working. We will serve coffee, tea and cookies for these breakfast conversations.