What we’re about
This group is about: 1) thoroughly studying Trumpism (in the context of worldwide democratic backsliding), and 2) making democracy great again. It's a "Plan B" group, meaning that the focus is not on vain hopes that we will somehow avoid a "hybrid regime" (AKA illiberal democracy, weak dictatorship) in Trump's 2nd term, but on restoring liberal democracy ("liberal" means minorities have rights that the majority can't take away) afterwards, probably using Sharp/CANVAS's 198 nonviolent methods of growing a pro-democracy movement into at least 3.5% of the population.
Our first few meetings will be about trying to get clarity about exactly what topics are the most important to study, and how the group should be organized. I don't have a political science degree or much experience running a group, so any help/guidance from those who do would be greatly appreciated. Sharp places heavy emphasis on teaching "nonviolent grand strategy" to everyone in the pro-democracy movement, so that impulsivity is avoided and only "dilemma actions" are taken.
Unless I'm wrong, a restored democracy would include Trump supporters in democratic deliberation, so I would like to include Trump supporters in this group. I suspect that almost all Americans value money & status more than democracy, but Trump supporters may be more candid. Ask yourself-- would you honestly prefer to be born in pre-Modi India (poor but democratic) or LKY's Singapore (rich but autocratic)? However (AFAIK), having a discussion that's politically inclusive requires all of us to improve our ability to have a "frank exchange of views" with our opponents without triggering anyone's amygdala (a hormonal rush that shuts down clear thinking). Some questions (from dignity.us/resources ) to help us exchange views in a calm/civilized way are:
-"Can you tell me more about that?"
-"Wow. I think just the opposite. Can you tell me how you came to that view?"
-"I want to hear what you think."
-"Can you tell me what I’m not getting?"
Our meetings will be hybrid in-person/Zoom. Time and location will be whatever's most convenient for the most people.
After you join the group, and if you're willing, please post a message answering the following questions:
- What are your top two preferred meeting times/locations? Examples: San Jose in transit-friendly location on Sat morning, Zoom on any evening
- Do you have expertise/skills/tools that can help the group? Examples: BA political science (or history, sociology, psychology, etc), 10yr community organizer, experience+equipment running hybrid in-person/Zoom Meetups, no experience but highly motivated to learn/help
- If you have knowledge about how to run a group/class, please list some of your top ideas on what this group's structure/process should be, and if you're willing to help run the group. Are you interested in being a co-moderator? To grow a movement, we need to help grow each other's abilities/skills, so this is your opportunity to learn & grow.
- What are the names of the best people you know of to explain our political situation & what we should be doing? If possible, post direct links to papers/books/videos. For example, here are the three best resources I've found so far:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Bringing+Down+A+Dictator
https://www.canvasopedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CANVAS-Core-Curriculum_EN-compressed_compressed-compressed.pdf
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FDTD7.pdf
Suggestion: Meetup sends you a message every time someone posts a group comment. To change that, go to
https://www.meetup.com/account/comm/make-democracy-great-again and turn off the "New comments" notification.