Democracy Is a Participation Sport

And author Heather Cox Richardson’s latest work is the playbook

By Ren Brabenec | Oct. 7, 2023

When asked why she is optimistic about the future of American democracy, Heather Cox Richardson says the answer—for her, at least—is a simple one.

“I believe in the concept of human self-determination, and I believe that democracy is the form of government most likely to bring that to life. It helps that I also believe most people are good and will choose to have control over their own destiny before they will hand that power over to someone else.”

The professor of history at Boston College and author of several award-winning books will take the stage for a National Writers Series conversation at Lars Hockstad Auditorium on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 7pm. The topic for the evening? Our country’s democracy, and how understanding its past can help us accurately assess its present and actively preserve its future.

Democracy vs. Autocracy

In the years since the Founding Fathers gathered to write the Constitution, many of the principles enshrined in its text have served as a guiding beacon, a foundation for American ideals, and a blueprint for liberal democracies abroad.

But the Founders could never have anticipated many of the changes the U.S. would undergo in its comparatively youthful 247 years. The tumultuous upheavals of settler colonialism westward, the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Gilded Age, the Great Depression, the Cold War, and so many other chapters stand out as America’s still-adolescent growing pains. And that’s to say nothing of the major changes and struggles of the last decade.

In Richardson’s new book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, she explains how much of America’s “one step forward, two steps back” malaise can be traced back to small groups of people, who, over time, have made war on American ideals, leading us down dangerous paths to authoritarianism. From one decade and century to the next, Richardson brings her penchant for clear and evocative storytelling to bear in providing historical context for why American democracy is in trouble.

“Democracy Awakening began as a series of essays designed to answer the questions people ask me every day: how did the parties switch sides, what is the Electoral College, what was the Southern Strategy, and so on,” Richardson explains. “Above all the theme was ‘how did we get here, where is here, and how do we get out?’”

But that was only the beginning of Richardson’s process. She says that after she had written an initial draft and let it sit for three or four months, she discovered the manuscript had a much larger theme. The new question she set out to answer was: Why do people in democracies vote to throw away their right to a say in their government in favor of autocracies?

“That story is about the way strongmen use language and history,” Richardson says. “So, while this book covers all of U.S. history in three different chunks, the overarching theme is one that is very dear to my heart in two different ways. It explores the fall and rise of democracies. It also examines the effect of image on reality.”

An Unhealthy Democracy

Is our democracy flailing, failing, or even falling? Most folks seem to think we’re somewhere in that spectrum. According to new data published in September 2023 by Pew Research, only 4 percent of U.S. adults say the American political system is working extremely well or very well.

Similarly, just 16 percent say they trust the federal government always or most of the time. Meanwhile, 63 percent say they have “not too much confidence” or “no confidence at all” in the future of the U.S. political system, and 65 percent say they feel exhausted when thinking about politics.

Pew also reports that, for the first time since polling began in the 1980s, more Americans now hold an unfavorable opinion of the Supreme Court than a favorable one, and nearly three in 10 people express highly unfavorable views of both political parties. In fact, 86 percent of those polled strongly agreed with the following phrase: “Republicans and Democrats are more focused on fighting each other than on solving problems.”

Why are Americans expressing the most negative views of democracy since polling began? “Majorities say the political process is dominated by special interests, flooded with campaign cash, and mired in partisan warfare,” said the authors of Pew’s latest work. “Elected officials are widely viewed as self-serving and ineffective.”

Understanding how U.S. institutions earned this dismally negative view requires analyzing the American history that brought us to this point. That’s exactly what Richardson has set out to do with her book.

“In the short term, we have to grapple with the reality that one of our two major political parties has abandoned democracy. I don’t think most people have really processed that crisis yet,” Richardson says of the most urgent concerns America faces. “The next issue is that the mechanics of our government have ceased to represent us accurately. Fixing that will help us address the many other issues we face, including the crucial need to mitigate and address climate change.”

Taking Back the Power

Though the subject matter can be heavy, Richardson’s trademark prose is both realistic and optimistic. She argues that restoring democracy starts by remembering the elements of the nation’s true history and values.

In Richardson’s telling, it’s the dedication to an egalitarian society that Americans—especially marginalized Americans—have fought for throughout history that has sustained our democracy. Such dedication can be a roadmap for our future, just so long as we are brave enough to follow it.

“I want people to know their voice matters, and that they have agency to change the direction of our society,” Richardson concludes. “I hope I’ve given folks some ideas about how to do that. I also hope this book shows people how close we are to losing our democracy, and what that will look like if we do, and how to recognize the ways in which politicians manipulate language and history to garner power.”

About the Event
An Evening with Heather Cox Richardson is presented by the National Writers Series at Lars Hockstad Auditorium at 7pm on Tuesday, Oct. 17. In-person tickets are sold out, but NWS has unlimited virtual tickets. Virtual tickets are $40.50 plus fees: $15 base ticket price plus $22.50 for a hardcover copy of Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America from Horizon Books. Tickets can be purchased at nationalwritersseries.org.