Our urgent mission
The enemies of democracy use a technique called “flooding the zone” to divide and distract those who would defend it. Steve Bannon has gone so far as to develop a strategy whose purpose is to overwhelm the public discourse with so much information - much of it misleading or irrelevant - that it becomes difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, leading to confusion and disengagement.
Since January 20, the tactic has been used to devastating effect. Right now, the zone is under water and the house is on fire. Democracy-loving Americans know we need to take action before it’s too late.Many of us don’t know what to do and have been paralyzed into inaction.
Some are ready to take the fight to the streets and only need leadership. Some are going to become candidates for office. Others will use their voices to communicate the demands of the American people. We need to respond with all that and more. Without hyperbole, it feels like we must now wage war against those whose goal is to “tear it all down.”
Wars happen on multiple fronts. While we fight and win in the courts and the streets, we must also win back the hearts and minds of those whose beliefs have been corrupted by a relentless torrent of lies, misinformation, and indoctrination. In addition to countering the lies as we see them, we are undertaking a bold project to help redefine what it means to be an American.
With Echoes of America, we join the battle for hearts and minds.
About the project
Introduction
Until very recently, Americans have been united by a shared belief in the values expressed in our founding documents. Although we may interpret them differently, these principles have echoed across the centuries, inspiring new generations.
In his 2005 book, Our Endangered Values, former President Jimmy Carter identified a “calculated and highly organized campaign to inject divisive social issues into politics,” the result of which is that American politics have become more fractured and partisan over time. Twenty years later, we live with the result of that insidious campaign.
As each news cycle brings to light yet another way in which democracy is under attack, we must set aside complacency and fight back. It’s not going to be easy. In fact, it will certainly be hard.
In what we’ve come to know as his “Moon Speech,” President John F. Kennedy laid it out:
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
It would be a helluva lot easier to tune it out, walk away, and tell ourselves it’s not really as bad as we think.
I was ready to do that. While I don’t know if one chronically cranky old woman can make a difference, I do know that crowd-sourcing anxiety on social media isn’t going to do any good. So, I’m going to try fighting back using the mightiest weapon I know.
A Call for Submissions
I invite you to share your perspective. Each month, I’ll give you a single topic to write about. In 1,000 words or less, you’ll describe your understanding of the topic along with what it means to you. The rules are fairly simple.
Rule 1: You can be political but not partisan. There are plenty of outlets for your frustration with the other party. This isn’t one of them.
Rule 2: We will moderate all comments and our decisions are final. If you demonstrate consistently that you are unable to remain civil and refrain from personal attacks, we will block you.
Rule 3: Facts matter. Quotes, statistics, and other factual assertions must be accompanied by sources.
Rule 4: After you’ve made one contribution to the current month’s topic, you can submit your perspective on a previous month’s topic.
Rule 5: Whether you receive an author credit is entirely up to you. You cannot submit anonymously, but names will not be published without your written consent.
In these topics you will hear the echoes of our founders’ words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” and “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…”
Malcolm X said, “We need more light about each other. Light creates understanding, understanding creates love, love creates patience, and patience creates unity.”
Let our words be the light in this moment.