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  • Authoritarianism
    • What is Authoritarianism?
    • Warning Signs of Authoritarianism
    • Comparing Democracy and Authoritarianism
    • Why Are Republicans Adopting Authoritarian Practices?
  • Major Issues
    • Escalating Economic Inequality
    • The Impact of Big Money On Our Political System
    • Why are we so polarized and what can we do about it?
    • Media’s Impact on Democracy
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    • What is needed for an effective democracy?
    • Build a Powerful Democracy Movement
    • Elect New Legislators
    • Reform Our Media to Better Support Democracy
    • Fix the Election System
    • Pass a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
  • Events
    • Partnering for Democracy in Massachusetts and Beyond
    • Democracy as a Spiritual Practice
    • The Democracy Movement: Where it Stands Today and Where it Needs to Go
    • Democracy in Chains
    • How Democracies Die
    • POTUS 1: The Next Fight for Democracy – Lawrence Lessig
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Contact Your Representatives

Kathryn Schulz’s investigation into what congressional staff do with contacts from constituents, leads to some rules of thumb about making yourself heard.

  1. If communication is your goal, write your own email, even if it’s very simple. Cut-and-paste text and signatures affixed to pre-written protests carry relatively little weight.
  2. Phone calls occupy staff and this gets attention. Mass phone-in campaigns also obstruct business as usual and attract media. A call that follows a script supplied by someone else will have less impact than if you state your own beliefs in your own words.
  3. Conventional mail is poor when timeliness is a concern. Delivery times are long and decontamination protocols at Congress cause further delays.
  4. Focus attention on your own congressional delegation or state or local representatives.

Be succinct about where you stand and what actions you want the official to take. Your position on a contentious issue is more important to someone who wants your vote than are your reasons for taking the position.  See this as a relief: you do not have the burden of persuading.  Elected representatives have the burden of courting you.

You can get contact information for persons in Congress at

Find Your Representative · House.gov – U.S. House of Representatives

or

Senators of the 117th Congress

One of the most effective approaches you can take is to actually meet with your member of congress. American Promise has provided the following recommendations for Meetings_with_Members_of_Congress.

Our Mission

Reclaim Our Democracy is an inclusive, collaborative, multi-partisan movement. Our goal is to reclaim our democratic rights as citizens of the United States of America to have a government that truly represents and supports the needs and desires of all people.

Editorials

  • Two Takeaways from the Recent Midterm Elections that Every American Should Understand Nov. 22, 2022
  • A Real And Very Dangerous Conspiracy Oct. 14, 2022
  • It's Time to Fix the Senate Sep. 8, 2021
  • Back to Basics - #1 Priority for Congress and President Jan. 23, 2021
  • The Mitch McConnell Problem Dec. 18, 2020
  • Dear Mr. Trump: Your Contract Will Not Be Renewed Nov. 21, 2020
  • Today's Civil War Feb 16, 2020

Events

Meeting the Moment: Taking Action to Keep Our Democracy, January 6 and 7, 2023

Partnering for Democracy in Massachusetts and Beyond with Danielle Allen. Video now available.

Democracy as a Spiritual Practice, March 31 and April 14 videos now available

The Democracy Movement: Where it Stands Today and Where it Needs to Go, with Adam Eichen, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022 video now available.

Democracy in Chains, with Duke Professor Nancy MacLean, video of presentation

How Democracies Die, with Harvard Professor Steven Levitsky, video of presentation

Facebook

To read more about current democracy related news and events, please click here to visit the Reclaim Our Democracy Facebook group page.

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