What it means to be a participant.
Democracy is not a participatory sport; it's a perpetual participatory project.
Housekeeping
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Now for the post!
Kevin Frazier edits The Oregon Way between Zoom classes at the UC Berkeley School of Law. He runs No One Left Offline, a nonprofit that provides hotspots to individuals on the wrong side of the Digital Divide, in his spare time.
"Democracy is a participatory sport." It's a line I'm sure we've all heard. But it's not accurate. Democracy is not a sport.
In a sport, showing up isn't enough; Damian Lillard can play all 48 minutes of a Blazer game, and still come out a loser. In a democracy, all engagement matters—if you're participating, then you're not losing.
In a sport, the game ends and the players move onto the next game. In a democracy, there's no finish line, end time, or final bell, every action adds to a never ending process of identifying and solving problems.
In a sport, you're forced onto a team or to compete against others. In a democracy, you're only on a team if you decide to be—you can choose to work with every "player."
Democracy, then, is not a participatory sport; it's a perpetual participatory project. If your candidate loses, your vote sends out a message that will change how the "winner" behaves in office. If your bill "fails," the proposal will be a solution to keep in mind down the road. If your protest doesn't make the news, it will still have brought community members together.
So are you a participant?
Participation means "the act of getting involved in something." Participation in democracy, then, means the act of getting involved with a democratic process, institution, or actor.
Stop and think. Are you a participant? Are you acting? Are you involved? With what process, institution, or actor?
If you don't have affirmative or complete answers to each of those questions, that's ok. That's the point of this post.
Democratic action is best defined by specifying what it's not. For example, it's not tweeting. Yes, tweeting is an act, but it's not a means to "get involved with a democratic process, institution, or actor."
A democratic act requires actually becoming involved with the target of that action. You wouldn't tell your parents "you're involved" with a new romantic interest because you tweeted at them.
Involvement entails an obligation on all parties—after all, you cannot ignore someone that's involved with something you're working on. Involvement is ongoing—you become a part of that democratic process or institution, or connected with that democratic actor. Involvement requires being informed—you can't be involved, if you're unaware of what is going on.
The easiest way to perform a democratic act and to get involved is to identify a democratic process, institution, or actor you want to influence. A democratic process may be a cause you want to advance through legislation or a ballot initiative. A democratic institution may be a committee, council, or organization that shapes the issues, rules, and regulations around a cause that fuels you. A democratic actor may be the candidate you want to support, or the official you want to inform. ***If you're struggling to identify where to get plugged in, send me a message (kfraz@berkeley.edu)***
Democratic participation looks like Rory Bialostosky, a Gen Zer and West Linn City Councilor. Before seeking and earning election, Rory was passionate about transparent government and made that his cause by involving himself in efforts to enforce public records laws.
Democratic participation looks like Moira Bowman and the folks at Oregon Food Bank registering people to vote so that they can begin their own participatory acts.
Democratic participation looks like Wendy Cook and the AAUW helping organize information sessions for folks to learn about ideas for how to make our elections more fair and representative.
Rory made himself a part of City Hall in West Linn. Moira offered a path for people to formally participate. Wendy engaged her community by deepening their understanding of our democractic structures.
Rory, Moira, and Wendy are all participants. Their efforts were not one-off bursts, but rather steps in a perpetual project to identify and solve problems.
So what is your act? How are you involved? How are you shaping a democratic process, institution, or actor?
Remember, democracy is a participatory project because we all share the outcome and the outcome will certainly be one you don't like if you're on the sidelines.
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