Democracy is our oldest and most sacred of national institutions but you wouldn'tnecessarily know it. Consider how little time we spend actually acknowledging andcelebrating it. Oh sure, there's July 4th -- but that's really more about our emancipationfrom British tyranny. Election day isn't even a holiday in the United States.
We don't take democracy for granted. It only takes a few seconds of tuning into the radio, TV or Google to see the mess of differing opinions. People talking about how we should vote, or what issues are the most important in the next election, and how much better or worse one view is than another.
We hear about how our democracy is under attack -- from corporations, from socialist presidents, from religious zealots, from libertarian zombie economists and on and on.
All of which is proof that our democracy, for all of its real (and imagined) flaws isintact. Alive and kicking. But how often do stop to revel in the messy, muddled glorythat is the rule of the people?
Well, here in Portland, OR, we've decided it's time. Time to crack a cold one, kick outthe jams, and celebrate our right to self-determination. And so we present RebootingDemocracy 2012 -- the first Democracy Festival the US has ever seen.
It's like Coachella for politicos or a TED talk for artsy types. We're bringing a fresh take to the old routine of a political conference -- opening up its panel discussions, policy workshops and progressive presentations to Portlanders of all stripes, and blowing it out to include concerts, film screenings, comedy shows, and interactive multimedia extravaganzas.
Through events like Political Science Theater 3000 and Candidates Gone Wild, we'lltake the stuffiest, wonkiest of political activities -- debate and analysis -- and give 'em alittle millennial spit, polish & shine. And our political conference's policy workshops andpanel discussions will, yes, address ways to achieve tuition equity and adapt to ongoingclimate change, but they'll also tackle the state's zombie apocalypse readiness andefforts to achieve better democracy through technology and design.
Along the way, we'll host a comedy show for the 99% by Seattle's Laughter Against theMachine, an ultramodern disco hoedown with nine-piece funk machines Ancient Heat,and a screening of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning documentary TheInterrupters.
We won't have solved all the country's problems at the end of the week. Or even thestate's. But we will have had fun, and maybe come up with a few new approaches tothe historic problems our country faces. We will have unleashed new voices andconnected everyday Oregonians with the levers of power. And, if all goes to plan, atleast a few hundred zealous hipsters will know how to use government Twitter feeds todisrupt hungry zombie hordes. And really, isn't that what democracy is for?