The American Democracy Summit was a truly engaging and worthwhile experience. It provided an opportunity to network with reformers, bridge-builders, civic educators, and individuals dedicated to strengthening our democracy. One thing became abundantly clear - after not having a summit (formerly known as the “un-rig the system” summit) since 2019, the enthusiasm within our community of practitioners was palpable. The power of community is both empowering and invigorating.

During the summit, in collaboration with our partners at Resolutionaries, we engaged in numerous discussions about the Building Civic Bridges Act. Additionally, we explored how Citizen Connect can serve as a valuable resource within the ecosystem of practitioners, facilitating connections with citizens. I look forward to continuing those conversations!

Looking ahead to the events scheduled in our community, I am particularly excited about tomorrow’s event from The Village Square, titled “Join or Die''. Ahead of the Zoom discussion with Dr. Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett on their book, “The Upswing”, registrants have the opportunity to watch the yet-to-be-officially-released movie, “Join or Die”. The film explores the importance of joining clubs and the profound impact it can have on the destiny of our nation. You can still register for tomorrow’s event and receive a private screening link to watch the film through Sunday. Whether or not you have time to watch the film before the event, both the movie and discussion promise invaluable insights.

One key takeaway from Dr. Putnam’s insight is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all national strategy for repairing social capital among communities. This resonates with the diverse range of practitioners working in the fields of bridge-building, civic engagement, reform, and peacebuilding. In “The Upswing”, the authors call for a “nonpartisan movement joining specific efforts together in a compelling citizen-drive call for large-scale reform”, emphasizing a need for “sustained and coordinated efforts of groups spread out across the country”. We concur - and we recognize that achieving it necessitates crafting a new narrative that brings together disparate efforts into a cohesive vision for the future of America, as well as a retraining and retooling of Americans for active citizenship. 

Thank you for being an integral part of this journey towards a more robust and inclusive democracy and for contributing to the revival of our sense of community.

Featured Content

ActiVote/AllSides (Blog) October 2nd: What do we really think about energy independence?

Ballotpedia (Blog) September 25th: Democratic party committees maintain lead over Republican counterparts in fundraising and spending

BridgeUSA/AllSides (Blog) September 26th: Abortion & Guns Are Two of the Hardest Issues to Discuss. Here’s Why.

Business for America (Blog) October 3rd: Earlier Primary Would Boost Pennsylvania Voters’ Role

Divided We Fall (Article) September 27th: Do Third Parties Help or Harm Democracy?

Issue One with Public Citizen (Video) September 22nd: Generative Artificial Intelligence: The Impact on Democracy

Independent Voter Network (Article) October 3rd: House to Vote on New Speaker -- Why Not an Independent?

Living Room Conversations (Guide) September 18th: Back to School

National Civic League (Article) September 28th: Riding the Waves of Democracy Innovation

The Horizons Project (Article) October 3rd: Faith in Democracy: Mobilizing Religious Communities for Democratic Change

Podcasts & Videos

Ballotpedia (On the Ballot) September 28th: How Competitive Are This November's State Legislative Elections?

Common Ground Committee (Let’s Find Common Ground) September 28th: The Challenge of Fixing Congress

DaviesContent  (How Do We Fix It?) September 22nd: Polarization: My Side Is Wrong.

The Democracy Group (Democracy in Danger) October 2nd: We Contain Multitudes: Democracy in Danger

The McCourtney Institute for Democracy (Democracy Works) September 25th: What can we learn from early democracies?

Citizen Connect Featured Events

USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future (October 4th @ 4 pm PDT) Post Covid: The Unequal State of Health in America

The Village Square (October 5th @ 7 pm EDT)Join or Die with Dr. Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett

Network for Responsible Public Policy (October 13th @ 5 pm EDT) Civil Liberties: The Next Hundred Years

National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation (October 13 - 15) NCDD 2023

American Public Square (October 14th @ 5 pm CDT) The 2023 Bridge-Building Innovation Showcase

Featured Fulcrum Articles

Bradford Fitch (Congressional Management Foundation) October 3rd: What really are “special interests” in Washington - and how they influence Congress 

Debilyn Molineaux, September 26th:Sit down with Deepa Iyer of Building Movement Project 

Joe Weston, September 22nd: Ask Joe: Warring with AI is warring with ourselves

Ken Powley (Team Democracy) September 29th: The Carter Center and Team Democracy unite to advance candidate principles for trusted elections

Rachel Bonar (Mormon Women for Ethical Government) September 26th: Pin the blame on the other party

In The News

Congressional Management Foundation, Issue One (Roll Call) September 28th: Shutdowns of the past were ‘emotional,’ ‘terrible’ for Hill staffers

Issue One (NPR) September 26th: In some states, more than half of the local election officials have left since 2020

Leadership Now Project (Fortune) September 11th: Supporting democracy is not a partisan issue–it’s what all Americans expect of business ahead of the 2024 election

Living Room Conversations (Newsweek) October 3rd: We Must All Work Together To Have a Trustworthy 2024 Election

Unite America (Washington Post) September 29th: Who elects these clowns, exactly? As it turns out, almost none of us.