State of Our Democracy

State of Our Democracy

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Democracy:  A Discussion 

On Saturday March 23rd, 2024, League members and their guests gathered to consider the current threats and dangers facing American Democracy and what we can do to ensure its
future strength.  Prior to the meeting, we invited attendees to peruse a list of books, articles and

podcasts all relating to the issue of Democracy (available HERE).  

image shows a diversity of people sitting at a table talking

The session began with Tam St. Claire presenting a very thoughtful overview of the
importance of History for context and perspective (available HERE). 

In the discussion that followed, participants identified a wide range of threats to our Democracy including:
    • Money in politics
    • Growing economic imbalance and inequality in our population and blaming “the other” for our unhappiness
    • Spread of conspiracy theories and mis- and dis-information
    • Lack of comprehensive voter education and understanding of civics
    • Attempts to break down governmental guardrails and separation of powers
    • The rise of authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism
These threats lead directly to:
    • A loss of trust in our elections
    • Power in the hands of the wealthy and abuse of power in government
    • Political disengagement among moderates and young people
    • Erosion of voting rights and women’s rights
    • Fewer well-qualified candidates
The meeting concluded with a discussion of some of the things the League of Women Voters and we, as individuals can do to address these threats:
    • You can help the LWV of Pennsylvania to counter the effects of mis- and disinformation in social media
    • You can endeavor to engage the young people you know and help them understand how to find trustworthy information and the importance of voting
    • You can write Letters to the Editor supporting issues you care about. (https://www.palwv.org/letters-to-the-editor)
    • You can contact your legislator about issues of concern (note: a personal letter or email will be more effective than your name on a petition or a mass mailing). Go to https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/ to find your legislator’s contact information.