Category: finding-common-values

How to find common values.

Thoughts on Aliens of Our Creation

Do they work for us, or for themselves?

By: Bruce Rafnel

Publisher: Substack, Authentic Community

Clearly, humans are causing climate change.

But we have more problems than warming the planet. Even if we control the temperature by reducing our CO2 emissions, there are many other ecological problems caused by humans: deforestation, desertification, disruption of water cycles, plastic pollution, insect decline, fishery collapses, and fuel resource depletion. The list goes on and on. “It is no accident that the ruins of the world’s oldest civilizations are mostly in deserts now. It wasn’t desert before that.”

Our human institutions are unwilling (or unable) to address these problems with real solutions. We created these institutions—corporations and governments, most notably—but we seem unable to control them. They have morphed into alien entities that now control us.

The smallest effective human-powered unit is a community, not an individual. However, tight, effective communities have been hobbled. It is time to relearn how to build communities, and then to do the work of taking back our government. At the same time, large organizations can be reformed or broken up, with non-violent actions, to remind them that they exist for humans, not themselves.

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A More Perfect Union

A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community
By Adam Russell Taylor
Recommended by: Bob
Publisher: Broadleaf Books

Thinking about alternatives is an important part of the One Million Rising training. In the words of the president of Sojourners, Adam Russell Taylor, whom I heard speak recently, to build a “more perfect union,” we need to be focusing on three priorities: Blocking, Bridging, and Building. We are focused a lot on Blocking bad things happening, but have little power to do that. In the future, we can work on Bridging, but that will take a very long time and will entail millions of one-on-one relationships.

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The Joy of Talking Politics With Strangers

How to save democracy one conversation at a time

by Elizabeth Chur

Publisher: Talk with Voters Publishing

Elections are decided on front porches and phone calls across the country, one voter at a time. The Joy of Talking Politics with Strangers is a comprehensive guidebook that helps volunteers connect one-on-one with voters – our most powerful tool for winning elections. These conversations can also spark unexpected moments of empathy and even kinship with our fellow Americans.
 

After 2016, volunteer Elizabeth Chur realized it’s up to ordinary citizens to protect our democracy. She started learning Spanish, began phone banking, and canvassed in California’s Central Valley, home to some of the nation’s most contested swing districts. By talking with over 1,000 people, she discovered how to forge meaningful connections with the hardest-to-reach voters, including:

  • Young people
  • Latinos
  • People who say, “I don’t vote.”

Filled with uplifting stories and practical tips, this inspiring book helps you earn people’s trust – and their votes. It demonstrates how taking positive action builds community and creates hope. Whether you’re a first-time volunteer or seasoned activist, The Joy of Talking Politics with Strangers shows you how to engage more effectively with voters and win elections.

 

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Democracy Awakening

Notes on the State of America

by Heather Cox Richardson

Publisher: Penguin Random House

At a time when the very foundations of American democracy seem under threat, the lessons of the past offer a road map for navigating a moment of political crisis. In Democracy Awakening, acclaimed historian Heather Cox Richardson delves into the tumultuous journey of American democracy, tracing the roots of Donald Trump’s “authoritarian experiment” to the earliest days of the republic. She examines the historical forces that have led to the current political climate, showing how modern conservatism has preyed upon a disaffected population, weaponizing language and promoting false history to consolidate power.

With remarkable clarity and the same accessible voice that brings millions to her newsletter, Letters from an American, Richardson wrangles a chaotic news feed into a story that pivots effortlessly from the Founders to the abolitionists to Nixon to the January 6 insurrection. An essential read for anyone concerned about the state of America, Democracy Awakening is more than a history book; it’s a call to action. Richardson reminds us that democracy requires constant vigilance and participation from all of us, showing how we, as a nation, can take the lessons of the past to secure a more just and equitable future.

Heather Cox Richardson | Democracy Awakening

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The Conspiracy to End America

Five Ways My Old Party Is Driving Our Democracy to Autocracy

by Stuart Stevens

Publisher: Hachette Book Group

Former chief Republican strategist, Lincoln Project adviser, and bestselling author of It Was All a Lie, Stuart Stevens offers an ominous warning that the GOP is dragging our country toward autocracy—and if we don’t wake up to the crisis in our system, 2024 may well be our last free and fair election.

 
INTERVIEW: Stuart Stevens talks to Brian Watt (KQED) at the Commonwealth Club

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Of Men and Boys

Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It

by Richard V. Reeves

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Recommended by: Bob B.

“The problem with men is typically framed as a problem of men,” writes Reeves. “It is men who must be fixed, one man or boy at a time. This individualist approach is wrong.” Instead, he maintains there are structural problems, societal issues, that need to be addressed if men are not to become ever more lost, defeated and angry.

Richard Reeves interviewed by Marisa Lagos on KQED Forum January 202c

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Of Boys and Men

After The Fall

The rise of Authoritarianism in the world we've made

by Bden Rhodes

Publisher: Random House

At a time when democracy in the United States is endangered as never before, Ben Rhodes spent years traveling the world to understand why. He visited dozens of countries, meeting with politicians and activists confronting the same nationalism and authoritarianism that are tearing America apart. Along the way, he discusses the growing authoritarianism of Vladimir Putin, and his aggression towards Ukraine, with the foremost opposition leader in Russia, who was subsequently poisoned and imprisoned; he profiled Hong Kong protesters who saw their movement snuffed out by China under Xi Jinping; and America itself reached the precipice of losing democracy before giving itself a fragile second chance.

High Conflict

Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out

by Amanda Ripley

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Recommended by: Cindi, Bob & Linda

When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. That’s what “high conflict” does. It’s the invisible hand of our time. And it’s different from the useful friction of “healthy conflict”. That’s good conflict, and it’s a necessary force that pushes us to be better people.

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