The United Citizens of America: Coming Together Beyond Party Lines
This article contains the content from the 10/29/2020 Bioneers Pulse newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter straight to your inbox!
The 2020 election feels unreal.
Citizens have already cast nearly 70 million early votes, voter suppression tactics are preventing more from being counted, and the nation’s cultural consciousness is shifting amid a pandemic and a reckoning on racism. Not only is this election breaking records, but its surreality is broken by the deep-seated policy implications it holds for the next four years — affecting the everyday lives of Americans on issues like climate change, racial justice, protecting and restoring ecosystems, Indigenous rights and beyond.
Where do we go from here?
This week, we feature visionary leaders who are working to answer the question: How can we come together and redesign a more just and equitable democracy for all?
‘Accessing the Best of Our Intentions’: Joan Blades on Listening and Relationship Building
Joan Blades is a social entrepreneur who’s built her career around bringing people together. Her most recent initiative is Living Room Conversations, a nonprofit based on conversational models specifically developed by dialogue experts to heal divides and promote understanding — a mission that’s more important now than ever before, as our culture and political climate becomes increasingly polarized.
In this interview with the Bioneers team, Joan shares the benefits of communicating intentionally, nourishing relationships, and coming together to collectively care for the planet and each other.
Joan will be leading a live, interactive Living Room Conversation at the Bioneers 2020 Conference. Register now to save your spot!
Jelani Cobb Talks Voter Suppression in the 2020 Election
What does voter suppression look like this season? While citizens are already forced to choose between health and civic duty, journalism professor Jelani Cobb names some other insidious forces at play — gerrymandering, strict voter ID laws and the controversy surrounding absentee ballots — and who benefits.
Activism, Justice and Human Rights at the Bioneers 2020 Conference
As we challenge our world’s outdated systems and institutions, we must seize the moment to rebuild a more equitable and regenerative world together. Join the Bioneers 2020 Conference for programming around activism, justice and human rights, where a diverse coalition of leaders will share their wisdom and invite you to join the movements that are shaping our world for the better — such as Indigenous allyship, climate action, women’s leadership, and more.
Democracy Unchained: The Moral Foundations of Democracy
The State of American Democracy Project seeks to strengthen democratic institutions by igniting an honest conversation on equality, justice, tolerance and fairness. This is the first episode of their ten-part conversation series, where political thought leaders explore the moral foundations of democracy as the most certain way of defending the dignity of all citizens.
Moving Forward Together: Political Peace Building Conversations
Our friends at LivingRoomConversations are hosting Moving Forward Together, a two-week series of election-focused conversations for people to come together and share hopes and concerns, to process grief and anxiety, and to relate and build understanding even across political differences. This conversation series will run through November 9.
What We’re Tracking
- From the producers of Making Contact: “Unblock the Vote 2020” | This podcast episode explores voter suppression in Native communities and the political battle to restore the voting rights of more than 6 million convicted felons.
- From Yes! Magazine: “How to Stop a Coup” | “As election results start coming in, the message needs to come through loud and clear: Count all the votes and honor the result.”
- From the Schumacher Center: “Of Corporations, Law, and Democracy” | Thomas Linzey, Bioneers 2020 Conference speaker and Senior Legal Counsel at the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, writes about how corporations influence democracy to prevent meaningful action on environmental protections.
This article contains the content from the 10/29/2020 Bioneers Pulse newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter straight to your inbox!
