One purpose of this blog is to provide a place to gather stories and perspectives, theories and facts that can help us understand five things:
- how, why and when political systems break down in general,
- how and why our political system in the United States is breaking down today,
- what consequences this has on our lives, and the lives of family, friends, and neighbors,
- what role we have to play in this, for better or worse, in our families and communities
- what strategies, norms or rules would make our political system more resilient, more adaptive, more effective, and more fair, not only for ourselves but for the benefit of generations to come.
Another purpose of this blog is to do this in a way that engages a broader range of voices in the conversation, to support or challenge what we have here. Challenging, we believe, is just another way of supporting. To do this right, we will need to evolve some strategies, norms and rules to keep the discussion civil and productive. For now, we simply set that as our intention. Going forward, we will seek to learn from other blogs that do this well.
It’s never been easier to begin a conversation with so many thoughtful, passionate people. We are grateful for that opportunity, and hope to make the most of it.