Making Sense of the Unprecedented
Part 2 – Discussion Wednesday, April 23, 7-8.30pm, The Board Room at the Washington Street Education Center (WSEC).
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87051028274?pwd=L5p4ZwpXDZRmUE6J1x8iTIQV4sfPP7.1
Meeting ID: 870 5102 8274
Passcode: 465425
Previously we discussed what makes an autocracy and looked at illiberal values and their role. This time we focus on the rapid transformation of government entities that now impact (and will impact further) our community. The articles we will discuss at this session include an article by Bonnie Honig that discusses the value of "public things" - namely the value beyond the monetary. The article by Steven Robinson describes a community pulling together to protect itself from a project that threatened their "public things". The article by Scheiring, formerly a member of the Hungarian Parliament, outlines the steps Orban has taken to destroy the democratic state but suggests what he says it takes to undo that destruction of institutions held in public trust.
We’ll explore what do we, as a community, consider public goods? Can we, through considering what author Bonnie Honig calls "public things", define what it is we want to fight to preserve? Do we have the will and tenacity to construct a resistance like that described by Robinson?
The discussion will be co-facilitated by Dr. Renee Heberle and Jane Pacheco. Renee is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toledo and Jane is the Mayor of Chelsea.
Articles to be discussed in April:
(1) The Politics of Public Things (PDF)
(2) Turf War (PDF)
(3) I Watched Orban Destroy Hungary’s Democracy. Here’s my advice… (use link below) https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/11/23/trump-autocrat-elections-00191281
Making Sense of the Unprecedented
Discussion group Sunday, March 23, 2.30pm McKune Room, Chelsea District Library
Topic: Community Discussion re Autocracy
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87051028274?pwd=L5p4ZwpXDZRmUE6J1x8iTIQV4sfPP7.1
Meeting ID: 870 5102 8274
Passcode: 465425
Join OWOF for discussions that will put current political conditions in the United States into historical and international context. We will discuss articles that will help us make sense of what is an unprecedented and disorienting time in a country we want to think is guided by liberal values of checked power, the dignity of individuals, and self-governance.
Questions we will raise include: What kind of political rule is autocracy? Is the US becoming autocratic? How have contemporary rulers such as Vladimir Putin of Russia and Viktor Orban of Hungary transformed their systems of government into autocracies? What differences exist in the US system that will inhibit and/or enhance the possibility of the US becoming autocratic?
The discussion will be co-facilitated by Dr. Renee Heberle and Jane Pacheco. Renee is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toledo and Jane is the Mayor of Chelsea.
Discussion of these articles in March will be followed by a discussion in April about how citizens have taken action to resist illiberal attacks on their systems of government.
Articles to be discussed in March:
Autocratic Legalism (PDF)
The Path to American Authoritarianism (PDF)
The Nature of Our Power
Optional readings:
Hungary's Viktor Orban
Living in an Endangered Democracy
Trump Autocrat Elections
