Doing Democracy: Pride, Reckoning and Reimagining Our Nearly 250 Year Old System of Democracy

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As we march toward another long frenzied election season, we at Forum have launched a new series, Doing Democracy, to step away from the fray and consider what democracy means, how it’s practiced, and other ways it could be done. For our first show, we’ll dive into the Us@250 project, which is urging us to approach the coming semiquincentennial – that’s the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, starting in 2026 – by reimagining the American narrative with pride, reckoning and aspiration. What parts of our democracy should we protect, what should we change, and what do we hope to become in the next 250 years? Guests: Ted R. Johnson, senior adviser, New America, leads the US@250 initiative; contributing columnist, The Washington Post. He's also a retired U.S. Navy commander and the author of "When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Forum comes from Rancho LaPuerta, a health resort with 85 years of wellness experience, providing summer vacations centered on well-being. Special rates on three-and-four-night August vacations include sunrise hikes, water classes, yoga, and spa therapies, all set in a backdrop of a dreamy summer sky. A six-acre organic garden provides fresh fruits and vegetables daily.
0:24.0	Learn more at Ranchoer Tuerta.com.
0:26.5	Greetings, boomtown.
0:27.9	The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming!
0:30.2	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:33.4	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go!
0:37.0	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
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0:42.7	From KQED.
0:43.8	From KQED.
0:59.2	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal. The almost 250-year history of American democracy is not clean nor uncomplicated.
1:06.6	So many were excluded in formal and informal ways from participating in political life, a fact
1:12.2	reflected in everything from the structure of suburban housing to the way we elect presidents.
1:17.5	Now, legally, the electorate has never been more inclusive, the tent never bigger, and not
1:23.2	unrelatedly, the structures and foundations of democracy are troubled by resurgent polarization on the one hand
1:29.3	and deep apathy on the other. We launch a new series today on what has to be done, big and small.
1:35.9	It's called Doing Democracy. We kick it off after this news.
1:49.7	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:51.3	America.
1:57.4	God bless you if it's good to you.
	...

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