Democracy 2.0

Abstract

Democracy in America: The National Campaign, a non-partisan public arts project, ran concurrently with the 2008 presidential campaign and election in the United States (US). The purpose of this project was to the temperature of artists' relationships with, and reactions, to the historic roots and practical manifestations of the American democratic tradition (Democracy in America: The National Campaign, 2008, p. 1).Democracy in America: The National Campaign included public forums, a 7-day exhibit at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, performances at the Republican and Democratic conventions, mobile projects in Queens and Brooklyn, and the publication A Guide to Democracy in America (Thompson, 2008). Impressive are the responses from artists and activists who participated in Town Hall Meetings in Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York City. Participants described and imagined the ways in which art responds to local concerns; the identification of resources to support such work; how art builds community; the contemporary and historical context of such work; and the links between this work and democracy. These responses are available on the project website.The focus of Democracy in America: The National Campaign has less to do with the institutional structures created to support and more to do with individual and collective actions that contribute to social justice, and the public good as well as how to influence institutional structures to be more responsive to public concerns. Democracy in American: The National Campaign exemplifies Lummis' (1997) promotion of a radical democracy based on participating in initiatives such as this public art project. In his view you do by working with others, building consensus, designing inclusive discussions, resolving conflict, acting on common concerns and planning for the future.At the University of Oregon (UO), where I teach, the student body is remarkably engaged with issues of social justice and the environment. This is evidenced in numerous student interest groups associated with student government on campus. The Associated Students of the UO (ASUO) set as their goal to register 3,000 students (on a campus of approximately 20,000 students) for the November 2008 election. They are likely to meet or surpass this goal, based on evidence from previous voter registration drives. However, despite their obvious commitment to political action, students routinely voice concern for the complex environmental and social problems that they are beginning to inherit from my generation and older as well as a lack of faith in our government institutions to respond appropriately and expeditiously. Like those who participated with Democracy in America: The National Campaign, many of my undergraduate and graduate students are gravely concerned with the state of the institutions created to maintain and advance democracy. This includes the institutions associated with all branches of government at the national, regional, and local levels. Students from across the political spectrum are routinely distressed as they have witnessed government institutions compromise civil liberties, the decisionmaking process associated with initiating a war in Iraq, responses to natural disasters, environmental degradation, and most recently an economic free fall due to a seeming lack of government oversight. I do not believe students on this campus are unique in this regard. Their distress is congruent with national polls showing significant numbers of people not having confidence in the presidency, congress, and the United States Supreme Court (Pollingreport.com, 2008).Education, both formal and informal, is essential to preparing a responsible and engaged citizenry. Doctorow's (2008a) novel Little Brother was written, in part, to encourage young adults to take seriously and to suggest a course of action for doing democracy. Set in the near future, the novel follows Marcus Yallow as he confronts questions of morality, reality, truth, and freedom that arise in response to high-tech antiterrorism. …