How Do We Save Democracy?
As you may be aware, I recently completed a documentary feature film, How to Save Democracy.
I've been screening it regionally so far, with screenings in Saratoga Springs, NY, along with the University of Albany and Union College.
Next week I'll be taking the film beyond the region, when I screen it at Tufts University in Boston as part of their Frontiers of Democracy conference.
And I'm in discussion to have the film shown in the fall at Harvard University.
After the Tufts screening, I'll have two more regional showings (both are free events):
Saturday, June 28 at 7pm at the Old Chatham Quaker Meeting House, 539 County Rt. 13, Old Chatham, NY 12136 (potluck at 5:30pm)--hosted by the Old Chatham Friends (Quakers)
Monday, July 7 at 6pm, at the Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen St., Glens Falls, NY 12801--hosted by Indivisible ADK/Saratoga
There's also a regional showing in the Fall, on October 12 at the Madison Theater in Albany, NY. More details will be forthcoming at a later date.
If you're interested in hosting a screening, just go to this page: Host a Screening of How to Save Democracy.
And in late June, we'll start pitching the film to distributors to see if it can land in movie theaters or on streaming platforms.
At all the showings, past and future, there is an after film Q&A, and the question always arises, How exactly can we save democracy in the U.S?
With democracy under threat like never before, that's the key question. It's one I tackle in my film, and it's one I've given a lot of thought to.
In thinking on this question, I've thought about the novel by the acclaimed writer Kim Stanley Robinson. Robinson's 2020 book, The Ministry for the Future, is about a U.N. appointed agency called The Ministry for the Future; their mission is to fix the planetary problems caused by climate change.
The novel begins in 2025 with a wet bulb event (a wet bulb event is when the temperature is 95 degrees and the humidity is over 95%) in which 20 million people in India die, and then proceeds over the next few decades. The book is both realistic and hopeful, and by the end of the novel, the Ministry for the Future is successful in their mission.
This got me to thinking: we need something similar. We need a Ministry for the Democratic Future. Democracy is in such a dire state that we need a full-on agency to fix it.
I will share more writings on the Ministry for the Democratic Future as time goes on. I already have created a logo, the image of which appears at the top of this essay.
The purpose of the Ministry for the Democratic Future is to acknowledge the problems we face and face them head on, while at the same time, outlining and working towards a full scale democratic future, one that is based on a broad-based prosperity for all and that is redistributive, sustainable, and regenerative.
Even in these times, when the vibe feels heavy and repressive, we can never give up hope.