The Dinners for Democracy discussion guides covering each chapter of Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times highlight the main points of the chapter, offer questions for reflection and discussion, and reference actions you can take in your community.

In Chapter 3 of Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times, Democracy Forward CEO and President Skye Perryman encourages readers: “Begin at your front door.” Beginning at your front door means recognizing the work that can be done to slow authoritarianism and promote pro-democracy action in our local contexts and communities.

Communities are Cradles of Democracy

Skye explains, “Too often, we think of democracy, political systems, and the change we want to see in our society as grandiose concepts consigned to the far-off places with marbled halls in a state capitol or in Washington, D.C. In reality, our day-to-day interactions in our local communities weave the fabric of our democracy” (p. 88). Authoritarianism wants citizens to believe that we are powerless to change what is happening around us. To begin at your front door means realizing you have agency and power because local issues and action undergird our entire system of democracy.  

Democracy is people powered and that power begins at our front door. As Skye explains in Chapter 1, “The word ‘democracy’ originates from two words from the 5th century BCE in ancient Greece: demos (people) and kratia (power)” (p. 38). Democracy’s power does not come from government buildings or elected officials; it comes from us, the people. So, reimagining our democracy starts with recognizing that the health and function of formal and informal community spaces are vital to our democracy. 

A Community Engagement Crisis

Community engagement has been in decline for decades. During the last half of the 20th century, new technologies, changing social and political landscapes, and other factors led to decreased social connection and participation, which has weakened democratic institutions and increased feelings of isolation.

In some cases, people live in civic deserts: places where there are physical barriers to community engagement. Civic deserts are defined by social scientists Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg and Felicia Sullivan as, “areas in the country where there are few opportunities to socialize in common spaces like public parks, local businesses, libraries, and places to build relationships and engage in our community” (p. 91). 

In other instances, isolation grows out of the ever-accelerating migration of our social lives and entertainment into online spaces. This shift undermines local political action because, “[A]s technology evolved, many organizations focused on communicating with the national masses as opposed to the often costly and time-consuming work of holding local meetings” (p. 92). The mass-media-driven “nationalization” of civic and political discussions may have reached many people, but it cannot replace the community building that comes with local, face-to-face civic engagement.

A consequence of the nationalization of political life has been diminished attention to and interest in local political life. Skye explains, “Often lost in the conversation of the national model of online political engagement is the need to strengthen the local capacity and focus necessary to build and change our communities—we must embrace both and understand that the work for democracy, while extending across the nation, begins at our front door” (p. 93).