Democracy U on the Web

 “The price of democracy is eternal vigilance.”

~ Thomas Jefferson

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

 “Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world.”

~ Jane Addams

This site is predicated on the idea that far too many citizens of the United States, in the early twenty-first century, have outsourced our citizenship to politicians, lawyers, academics, and activists.  Yet the delicate checks and balances of our governmental system only work when they stand on the firm foundation of an informed and engaged citizenry.  We must—each of us, all of us—reclaim the responsibilities that go along with our rights.  Our representatives in Washington can’t do their jobs if we don’t do ours.

The following resources are intended to help us do just that.

 News You Can Use

 Keep Informed

 Get Involved

 Be Heard

News You Can Use

“We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.”

~ John F. Kennedy

This section provides links to some alternative media outlets, offering fresh and provocative reporting you will not find elsewhere.

• Democracy Now!  The most fiercely independent news program available today. 

• Factcheck.org  The Annenberg Foundation (a non-partisan, non-profit, “consumer advocate” for voters) monitors the factual accuracy of statements in political ads, speeches, and news reports. 

• FAIR The web site of the national media watch group “Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting”

• The Onion  America’s premier satirical news parody.

• UUA “Statement of Conscience” on the subject of civil liberties

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Keep Informed

“Science may have found a cure for most evils;

but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings.”

~ Helen Keller

There is so much information out there it can be hard to focus in.  Here are some resources—online video, articles, links to books—that may help.  This section will undoubtedly expand over time.  Let us know what you need—contact Rev. Erik at erik.fpb@verizon.net

Videos

• A video of a lecture given by Naomi Wolf about her book The End of America

Articles

• An essay in the UK Guardian by Naomi Wolf in which she outlines her thesis.

• An essay by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann about the Military Commissions Act of 2006

Books

• The End of America (letter of warning to a young patriot) by Naomi Wolf

• The Assault on Reason by Al Gore

• The Shock Doctrine:  the rise of disaster capitalism by Naomi Klein

• It Can Happen Here:  Authoritarian Peril in the Age of Bush by Joe Conason

• The Left Hand of God, The: Healing America's Political and Spiritual Crisis by Michael Lerner

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Get Involved

“Everybody counts in applying democracy. And there will never be a true democracy until every responsible and law-abiding adult in it, without regard to race, sex, color or creed has his or her own inalienable and unpurchasable voice in government.”

~ Carrie Chapman Catt

It has often been said that Unitarian Universalists believe in “deeds not creeds.”  What can we do beyond informing ourselves and talking with others (two very important things).  These links may get you started:

National Organizations

• The American Freedom Campaign

• People for the American Way

• The Center for Constitutional Rights

• Project Vote Smart

• The Network of Spiritual Progressives

• Unity ’08 (a movement to create a “unity party”)

Local Organizations

• Cape Codders for Peace and Justice

•  Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Cape Cod Branch)

• Veterans for Peace (Massachusetts Branch)

• Issues Source.org (a site with a massive amount of information about Massachusetts politics and policy.)

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Be Heard

“How can one not speak about war, poverty, and inequality

when people who suffer from these afflictions don't have a voice to speak?”

~ Isabel Allende

It’s often recommended that you get in touch with your representative, but many of us don’t know how.  Here’s the information you need:

The Honorable William D. Delahunt

The Honorable John F. Kerry

The Honorable Edward Kennedy

President George W. Bush

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“The struggle is inner: Chicano, indio, American Indian, mojado, mexicano, immigrant Latino, Anglo in power, working class Anglo, Black, Asian--our psyches resemble the bordertowns and are populated by the same people. The struggle has always been inner, and is played out in outer terrains. Awareness of our situation must come before inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society. Nothing happens in the "real" world unless it first happens in the images in our heads.”

~ Gloria Anzaldua