Community Discussion

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.