Personal Actions #3

Support and Protect the Institutions and Processes on which the American Experiment Rests

With our processes and institutions under increased attack, this is surprisingly important.  As with the actions to address the big complex issues we face, supporting our democratic institutions and processes can be intimidating at first.  The key is to simply start acting and see where that leads.  We make a difference once we engage – but not while we’re on the sidelines.

  1. Act to support the election process – from access and countering gerrymandering to protecting the right to vote. 
  2. Vote
  3. Work to get people elected who are ready to take on the big tough complex issues we face; who act from courage vs. fear and from hope vs. anger; and who put country/community over self and can persevere to “hold the course.”
  4. Hold elected and appointed office holders accountable for their actions – and support those that follow through on their promises.
  5. Act to support the array of processes that reinforce American Greatness – from the legal and criminal justice system to the educational system and the free press.
  6. Act to support a healthy balance in the natural “dynamic tensions” that are an essential part of an effective democracy – state/national governments; capitalism/government regulation and support; individual freedom/community responsibility, etc.
  7. Participate in and fund voluntary associations that support people (from food banks to faith communities) and limit the need for government intervention – a surprisingly important of the basis of our founding.
  8. Work to protect knowledge, truth, particularly in the media.

“Let no one be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one manor one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills — against misery and ignorance, injustice, and violence… Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man (or a woman) stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he (or she or they) sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”


Robert Francis Kennedy speech at Day of Affirmation,
University of Capetown, South Africa