REPORT DEAD LINKS --- we can't keep this site up-to-date without your help
Democracy is ...
Democracy is ... a strong family: people help one another, take care of the young, old and sick, accommodate differences; regulate harmful behaviors. It's where everyone works in the garden, kitchen, workshop or study and comes together at the table, sharing food and arguments, making do with what there is and deciding how to spend or invest surplus.
Democracy is ... when the whole family agrees on some general boundaries and values, but won't allow doctrine to drive decisions or immutable rules to govern every contingency. It's when we are confident enough in ourselves and in one another to improvise and make things up as we go along in response to the needs of the whole family and community; it's when we have elders we respect and who respect us.
Today we are necessarily a global family, facing major challenges of war / terrorism / genocide, environmental degradation, disease, and, above all, poverty.
From the Internet (10/6/08) -- by Caroline Arnold