America’s democracy is in extreme danger. Over and over I’ve said to myself “I can’t imagine this (outrage du jour) is happening!”  I also couldn’t imagine the Republican Party would deliberately sabotage democracy to take power away from regular people so their elites could run the country. Solid evidence built up over the past ten years confirm that what I could not imagine has indeed become a reality. I hung onto the idea that leaders of the Democrats would rise to the occasion.  And, that the mainstream media would report honestly on the radicalization of the Republican Party.  And, that Democrats would make gains in the Congress. This did not happen.

I CAN IMAGINE ordinary American citizens mounting a massive grass roots movement to stop right wing extremists from destroying America. The current incredible outpouring of citizen action to affirm that everybody matters, that all people have value, confirms this belief.

I CAN IMAGINE millions of Americans making citizen participation in democracy an integral part of their lives, taking power away from oligarchs and religious extremists. We can make America again be government of the people, by the people and for the people!

One of the major components of a winning strategy is a coherent, consistent narrative about what Democrats stand for and our vision of America.

We the people need to talk about:   How do we know right from wrong?  —   True from false?  —   Smart from stupid?

How do we the people, through our democratically elected government, make the wisest possible decisions for now and future generations?

What kind of country and world do we want to create for our children and grandchildren? We are at a trajectory moment in history – actually, a tipping point in civilization – when we must accept our responsibility as citizens and learn the truth about our history, face today’s reality head on, make choices about the future and take action . Our increasingly fragile democracy — and our world — is at stake.

Conservatives and progressives have very different ideas of right and wrong. These worldviews are drastically at odds and affect every facet of democracy. Much of the time citizens hold different understandings of even the basic facts related to the topics we are debating. Citizens must understand how the political system and parties have changed, learn the critical implications of these culture wars, choose sides and fight for our grand children’s future.

The mission of this website is to help develop a powerful narrative for the progressive movement for long term, systemic change.

With audacious faith, Phyllis Stenerson — editor/curator of ProgressiveValues.org

“We must move forward in the days ahead with audacious faith. The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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• Recent e-letters — to receive directly go to bottom left of home page and sign up
• Old issues, new fight 1/24/15
  
• The 2014 election was about everything.  1/13/15
• Saving America’s Soul 10/25/14
  
• Countdown to democracy 10/4/14
• Sept 4 to Nov 4 Inform Persuade Vote 9/4/14
• Democracy: Faith and/or Reason 8/19/14
  
• Democracy and Religion — an essential dialogue 8/8/14
  

Sources of material about American democracy posted at www.ProgressiveValues.org include Alternet.org, AmericanProgress.org, Billmoyers.com, Commondreams.org, Democracynow.org, Enlightennext.org, GeorgeLakoff.com,  Minpost.com, motherjones.com, Onbeing.org, Pfaw.org, Philosophynow.org, Politico.com, Religiondispatches.org, Robertreich.com, Salon.com, Sojo.net, TheChristianLeft, Thedailybeast.com, TheNation.com, Thinkprogress.org, Tikkun.org, Tomdispatch.com, Truth-out.org, Uuworld.org, Yesmagazine.org and more — Exercise your responsibility as a citizen by contributing to these independent journalists. This compilation of information and inspiration would not be possible without them.

You can contribute to this website through PayPal or contact phyllis@progressivevalues.org.

see About this project and An Open Letter to America

Fair Use Notice: These pages contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit for educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C. § 107. The many wise and articulate writers who share their knowledge with the public via the internet are profoundly appreciated. If any writer wishes to have their content amended or removed, please contact the editor at  phyllis@progressivevales.org. Thank you.

 work in progress — latest update 1/17/15  Paideia LLC © 2001–2015