Thoughtful Citizenship: More Resources for Becoming a Thoughtful Citizen

This is a short list of non-partisan resources that can aid you in becoming a more thoughtful and well-informed citizen. Please use the "comments" box at the bottom of the page to add any others that you are aware of.

Websites and groups

Presidency 2008
http://www.politics1.com/p2008.htm
This is as close as you'll get to an unbiased collection of primary and
secondary source links, basic information, issue exposition, and even a
range of representative blogs and opinions. Co-sponsored by C- SPAN.

Real Clear Politics
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/
An aggregator of news, opinion, polls, and ads. It is very rare to find political
analysis that does not have an opinion so that aggregator that tries to
collate a full range of mainstream opinion has a valuable role.

Elections Center 2008 at CNN Politics
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/
This site has good polls and maps and excellent precis of key issues, though
no sites present the issues as richly as the websites of the candidates
themselves.

Politifact.org
http://www.politifact.org/truth-o-meter/
In order to cope with rampant distortion and outright lies on the campaign
trail, every citizen should make use of a fact checker such as this one,
co-sponsored by the St. Petersburg Times.
Annenberg's www.factcheck.org is as good but not as timely.

League of Women Voters
http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Project Vote Smart
http://www.votesmart.org/index.htm
Project Vote Smart volunteers spend hours researching the backgrounds and records of thousands of political candidates and elected officials to discover their voting records, campaign contributions, public statements, biographical data (including their work history) and evaluations of them generated by over 100 competing special interest groups.

Additional Reading for Thoughtful Citizens

Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block
This is a practical exploration of exact ways real community can emerge from fragmentation: How is community built? How does the transformation occur? What fundamental shifts are involved? Block presents a way of thinking that creates an opening for authentic communities to exist and details what each of us can do to make that happen.

Reclaiming Our Democracy: Healing the Break Between People and Government, by Sam Daley-Harris
Daley-Harris shares a unique vision to transform the crisis of political apathy into true participatory democracy. Through stories of personal challenge and the triumph of ordinary people taking extraordinary action, he shares his vision of democracy “as if people mattered.”

Solving Tough Problems by Adam Kahane
Both tough and inspiring, the book explores models, technologies, and examples that foster and facilitate "dialogues of the heart." The focus is on
the connection between individual learning and institutional change. Also on how leaders can move beyond politeness or defensiveness toward deeper and more productive dialogue.

un-Spun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson
According to Jamieson and Jackson, both of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, "spin is a polite word for deception," and deception is everywhere. As a remedy, they offer this media literacy crash course. The authors explore spin's warning signs ("If it's scary, be wary") and the tricks used to bring people around to a certain point of view.

America the Principled: 6 Opportunities for Becoming a Can-Do Nation Once Again by Rosabeth Moss Kantor
This book outlines 6 practical and necessary ways to help us “recapture the American Dream”. This includes investing in people and ideas, rewarding hard work, valuing dialogue and debate, and listening to dissenting voices.

Time to Think by Nancy Klein
The author presents ten behaviors that help people think for themselves with rigor, imagination, courage, and grace. “The most valuable thing we can offer each other is the framework in which to think for ourselves”.

Comments

Election Eve Anticipation
Tom Taylor 11-3-08

I am looking forward to tomorrow and to a new day, a new way and wonder at what we can do together. Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for all my life. It will be a new day for me and for everyone in the world. If there is a global brain and a global being, than this is its coming-of-age ritual, a bar mitzvah, a confirmation a time to put aside childish ways and accept the responsibility of global adulthood. This country and this world will have a new leader who reminds us that “Yes WE can!” We have been on our vision quest, our rite of passage and now we must take our newly reclaimed awareness of truth and embrace our individual and shared reality. Like the guru who says, “Gee you are you” Obama will bring honor to each person on the planet and challenge them to be all that they can be; (which is different that making all the money you can make).

We have a vision. As a matter of fact we have many visions. Some of these visions are widely shared and others are clearly conflicting. On Wednesday and forever, we will need to see ourselves and each other in new ways. We will need new ways to be and work together or our visions of change will become even more painful disappointments. In addition to openness to the new we can build our future on what has always been true. Our religions and cultures have values that can guide us, if we can sift out the chaff that has led us to be intolerant and hateful. We can draw on the wisdom of our elders and the innocence of our children. Nature too is a source of inspiration and guidance. Let us breathe deeply and be aware of the truth of who we are and what we are to be.

Let us reclaim the power of the people and use the lessons of those who know how to seek peace, build consensus, resolve conflicts and achieve “liberty and justice for all!” Let us transition from authoritarian control in government, business, churches, schools, families and everywhere to new structures that help everyone realize their potential. Let us listen to each other, shape shared strategies, consider old and new options and build consensus on and commitment to practical, productive paths to our potential, our heaven on Earth.

Posted by: Tom Taylor | November 03, 2008 at 06:03 PM

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