Country over party: this is what democracy looks like

A New Normal

Today, as voters head to the polls in record numbers and with concerns around the election at a fever pitch, we’re talking about a topic that has us alternately feeling like Chicken Little and Pollyanna. But we’re not alone. Everywhere you look people and organizations are prepping for this election—and most would say with good reason.
So when we heard about a training designed to prepare people to take action in the event of an undemocratic power grab, we decided it was definitely worth our virtual attendance. The premise of the training, called Choose Democracy, can be distilled into a few simple sentences: We will vote and we will refuse to accept election results until all of the votes are counted. And if this, the most basic principle of democracy, is denied, then we the people will defend our democracy through nonviolent mass protests. (Now, it’s important to say here that no one candidate is supported for the win. The objective is simply that democratic processes are honored and all votes are counted.)
About a week after the training we sat down with facilitators Michael Levi, a Quaker and long term activist schooled in non-violence and Alaine Duncan, also a Quaker as well as a healer and author of The Tao of Trauma. Her East-meets-West approach to trauma feels more needed than ever.
And one last thing: we hope you’ll stay tuned after this conversation as Kelley seeks some advice about coping with situations like this from our co-host, Tanvir, in Bangladesh—a country that has definitely seen its fair share of struggles for democracy over the years.
We hope you find this useful—and that it turns out we were Chicken Little in the end.
.
OVER ON THE WEBSITE
>We've got a new website: www.anewnormalpodcast.com
>This is where we will post show notes, transcripts and more. It's also the place to subscribe, rate, review and share the show and to sign up for our email newsletter.
>If you've got a Be the Change story you'd like to share—or like for us to share—on the podcast, please get in touch with us via our contact form, which you can find here.
RESOURCES
>For more information about Choose Democracy go to www.choosedemocracy.us
>Here’s a super interesting episode of Radiolab called What If that takes on the speculation about what Donald Trump might do in the wake of the election. "Part war game part choose your own adventure, Rosa’s Transition Integrity Project doesn’t give us any predictions, and it isn’t a referendum on Trump. Instead, it’s a deeply illuminating stress test on our laws, our institutions, and on the commitment to democracy written into the constitution.”
>Here's an interesting article from Buzzfeed that places our divisions and the potential for violence over the longer term into the larger context of rising inequality.
>Theme music: Fragilistic by Ketsa
licensed under CC BY NC ND 4