Debating 4 Democracy

I just got back from the annual Debating 4 Democracy Conference that is the signature event of a group called Project Pericles, a consortium of 29 colleges from around the country, dedicated to promoting civic engagement and positive social change through Discussion, Deliberation, Debate, and active Democracy (Note the 4 Ds).

I found it to be a stimulating day and a half, almost entirely for two reasons. First, the panelists, most of whom are activists and leaders in non-profit organizations that attempt to promote the public good, were unflaggingly stimulating and inspiring. Second, because the students representing these 29 colleges from places like Bates and Pitzer and Macalester and Carleton and Wagner and the New School were all so well informed and so deeply engaged by the issues being discussed. Being at such an event where everyone is excited to talk through important issues really can restore your faith in the future of democracy.

Which is partly the point. The goal is to gather to talk about hard social issues, but to exchange ideas in a way that is respectful and yet passionate. To hear people out patiently and eagerly and to offer your own views, when it is appropriate to do so, with vigor and conviction. To my amazement, the entire conference was conducted in this manner. Not a single exchange deviated from the expectation to be both passionate and restrained, simultaneously committed and yet open to a different perspective.

Here is a sampling of backgrounds of speakers represented at the conference:

• The founder of the website Idealist, which connects potential employees and volunteers to non-profit organizations. 
• The COO of All Out, which is an alliance of straight, gay, lesbian, bi and trans people, fighting for full equality for people with unconventional sexual orientations. 
• One of the people, who in collaboration with activist Bill McKibben, launched 350.org to draw attention to unsustainably high carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
• An attorney in the Brennan Center's Democracy Program who focuses especially on the investigation of cases of voter suppression.
• A founder of Community Voices Heard, a non-profit which grew out of concerns that so-called welfare mothers were being unfairly stereotyped and that it was important to hear their stories directly.
• A reporter for the Huffington Post who has written widely about immigration and race and their impact on recent elections.

What unites all these amazing people is a commitment to an important cause and a desire to do whatever it takes to see to it that their particular cause gets the attention it deserves. Without exception, they were articulate, engaged, hopeful people eager to share what they have learned with the Periclean students.

This experience, paired with a number of others I have had recently, is persuading me that our students at Wagner need to know more about the political process and how to advocate for an issue that matters to them. I hope to play a role in helping to make political advocacy (as opposed to direct service in the community) a much larger part of the civic engagement experience at Wagner.