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on Democracy's Edge

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Read “Reclaiming Democracy” by Rev. Dr. Dorothy May Emerson

 

I have just finished reading your interesting [book], and [I am], yes, saddened, at the condition of the various institutions within our society. Usually, I read a book and bring it back to my library. I say my library because fortunately I live within walking distance of my local library. This is a book that I am going to acquire and give it as a birthday gift to one or two of my children. You really have awakened in me what some very ordinary people are doing in this great land of ours to preserve this democracy. Your book is one of Hope for the future if we all are conscious of what can be done to keep our democracy prospering and accepting responsibility. Thanks again for writing something really worthwhile.
-Joseph L. Sullivan

Frances Moore Lappé is in my view more qualified to be President of We the People, leading a transpartisan cabinet committed to her Spiral of Empowerment, than anyone now running or likely to run. There are several books that have given me hope for our future--her Democracy's Edge, Tom Atlee's Tao of Democracy, Jim Rough's Society's Breakthrough, and Richard Moore's Escaping the Matrix. Among these and many other authors, France Moore Lappé stands out as a leader who can and should help us take back and restore the Republic of, by, and for We the People.
- Robert Steele, Oakton, Virginia

I heard, I guess it was Frances on Jefferson Public Radio this morning and was stunned. You were talking about what I call "poverty thinking" in a very interesting and what seems "new" way. What I mean is that you did not use the persecutor-victim model as a vehicle for your thesis. You did not come across as an angry leftist with a double bitted ax to grind. Wow, was this ever refreshing. I'm going to look up a copy of Democracy's Edge and just maybe I'll have to rejoin the fight.
- Larry Lampi, Eureka, California

I began reading Democracy's Edge on Thursday and am hoping to finish it within the next few hours so that I can give it to my brother when we meet. I can't wait to return to the U.S. and get involved. It's funny how much time people have spent debating whether people can create non-hierarchical organizations capable of delivering on promises of social justice when your book shows that it's actually happening all around us. Thanks again for your advice, as well as everything you've done to make democracy a living force for change in the United States.
- Jason Rhodes, Seoul, KOREA

The whole book is a pleasure, and oh how dearly did I need its
hopeful words. I suspect it was at times hard to sustain such a tempo... when we see over and over how fragile the idea of democracy is, and in how many different ways our society is organized to make it seem absurd.

Thank you, thank you!
- Deborah Meier, Hillsdale, NY

(Meier has for decades been a national leader in democratic education. She is the author of several books, including In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing and Standardization, and is a MacArthur Foundation "Genius" award recipient.)

I'm deep into "Democracy's Edge" today and realize that you captured the essence of WORTH's [www.worthwomen.org ] unusual approach to micro finance, core to Living Democracy, when you said to me last night, "Oh, it's really 'empowerment,' isn't it!"

That's the operational word at the heart of both Living Democracy and WORTH... and, in it's full name it is "WORTH-A Global Women's Empowerment Program" -- born our of the original Nepal 'Women's Empowerment Program,' then know simply as WEP...

Your message about Living Democracy, in fact, gives new meaning to everything Marcia and I have been doing for the past 45 yrs. -- since I joined JFK's Peace Corps and Marcia began studying what 'Thin Democracy' did to the Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma -- our own quest to bring about Living Democracy. I'm convinced that we're now making it happen within WORTH, now approaching 200,000 women in 8 countries. Encouraged because it is still thriving in beleaguered Nepal where even the Thin Democracy is on the Edge, but where 100,000 women are engaged in Living Democracy, joyfully engaged on "The Road to Wealth" - as their basic handbook is known.

Thanks again for helping connect the dots!
- Malcolm J. Odell

Thank you so much for sending Democracy's Edge . I started it from the beginning and felt as if someone had done all the work of putting my own ideas into words for me... The big 'aha' of the book for me is that democracy is not something you 'have,' but something we continually recreate. I had certainly misunderstood this in the past. It is much more positive to wrok toward something you believe in than to be angry about what you perceive has been taken away. Understanding democracy as a process gives me patience to continue to work for it. When I was looking at democracy as a 'thing,' or possession, it seemed an impossible task to 'get' or 'have' it.
- Susan Ticehurst, Tamworth, NH

Your book was a delight. I confess to being quite 'down' these past few years, and with good reason... Your book, therefore, was a breath of fresh air. You did an enormous amount of research to come up with all of those upbeat and compelling stories. And you write so clearly.
- Harry Lonsdale and Bryn Hazell, Sisters, Oregon

Let me begin by claiming my Berkshire County farm-boy roots. Born in Pittsfield and raised on a dairy farm in Gt. Barrington. I am now retired from the Florida Dept of Education.

Never heard of you before stumbling across Democracy's Edge. Almost literally at Barnes & Noble.

Had gotten a gift card for Christmas and was looking for books relating to Democracy and its many permeations. I am working on a program to make democracy a living breathing way of life here in Tally Town. (Tallahassee FL) I have only read 11 pages and had to contact you. It is as if you pried my head open and pulled out some my very thoughts re: democracy.

I am an activist Democrat who's life philosophy has always held Lincoln's Gettysburg Address at its core. From there I have held democracy as a journey one that may be halted at any time by any variety of road blocks, floods, change of direction et al. It is precious, dear, and fragile and it can be cut off at any time. I am thrilled to have found you and your organization.
- Alan C. Rollins, Tallahassee, Florida

Just a note to let you know how much I appreciated your keynote at the Women’s Agricultural Network Conference in Burlington, VT earlier this year. I was one of those speakers who admired your work back in my college days when Diet for a Small Planet was a new resource. Today I received the participant list from Viv Holmes; a faculty member in Maine Cooperative Exension and a colleague.

I thought you might be pleased to know we have started a “study group”/Think and action strategy in UMCE. We are reading, reflecting upon and apiring to put more “Thick Democracy” into out cooperative extension work by using Democracy’s Edge as a resource. I invited 18 to a first meeting in early December (from across the state UMCE employees). Sixteen have decided “to go the year” of 2006 into this professional development and three more have already decided to join us.

This will be a work in progress that will move as the participants commit to action. We are having quarterly sessions where we will discuss what we’ve read, share actions/reactions to the work and make lunch as a community of peers. I have every confidence some creative programming and democracy will occur because of this endeavor.

My best to you now and always.
Appreciatively,
Lavon Bartel
- Lavon Bartel, Orono, ME

My wife and I watched your segment of the Now program this evening and found your interview by David Brancaccio very refreshing. Your message of becoming more active within our "democracies" or risk falling into a totalitarian state is a wake-up call for every thinking person. Given recent manipulation of the people by most institutional power centers makes me think we're already on that slippery slope. We have a Canadian Federal election coming up in a few weeks and I've become cynical about the political process and results. You've made me re-think those thoughts and maybe I can awaken my previous enthusiasm about these issues. Thanks.
- Jack Century, Calgary, Canada

On this snowy Saturday morning when the prevailing news story is about Bush's approval rating rising despite the Iraq war debacle and myriad other depressing stories, I just had to take a moment to write. I finished Democracy's Edge a couple of days ago and saw Frances on NOW last night.

Once again, I have been inspired by the common sense approach to democracy that she extols. Examples of our fellow citizens getting informed and engaged are so heartening and necessary, especially in the face of corporate-controlled media. I am inspired, once again. I even wrote a positive review of Frances' work on my blog www.ardenteden.blogspot.com.

Thanks for keeping me engaged!
- Lauren, Boston, MA

Dear Frances,
I'm feeling revived by reading your book. Thank you.
I thought this poem might resonate, since is a response to the seeminly hopless division between people:
Wishing you well.

I’d like to find a loving place of friendship, half way,
With those who disagree,
A park bench of the heart that circles in space
Where I could give up my small views,
Circles the sun slowly, taking a year
So we can learn its life-giving generosity
From all sides.
- Michael Irwin

Here it is a Monday morning and I find myself singing. No singer, I am damn near trilling as I close Democracy's Edge on page 25 to enter into a new week, now filled with possibility and even hope. And all those other pages waiting for me.

ps - My local library, patriots that they are, had the book displayed front and center on this Saturday, December 3, a position from which worthy books leap on passing readers.
- Bill Lavery, Saline, Michigan

Frances Moore Lappe beautifully transcends partisan politics in this third book of a trilogy about making a difference in one's life and the lives of others (Hope's Edge, You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear being the first two; I highly recommend reading them in that order). It was exciting for me to read about people who have successfully moved beyond apathy and into action to better the world. Bravo!
- Mary Ann Statham, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

This is an astonishing assembly of evidence that the news of democracy's demise has been greatly exaggerated. If you want to get excited about what your fellow citizens are doing out of the limelight of the mainstream "news" media, this book will hit the spot. Although Lappe has herself been a significant figure in grassroots progressive work for decades, and her experience clearly informs the conceptual framework she uses, this book is really about the work of an amazing array of others, and what can happen when we work together. It made me feel like cheering out loud.
- Hilary G. Worthen, Boston, Massachusetts

This is a very important and timely book. It shines light where, at best, we sit in the shadows. It speaks truth that cuts at our numbness. It pulls us back from the brink before we become a colossal collective train wreck and points us toward sanity and renewal. Frances Moore Lappe's voice needs to be heard, as soon as possible, before attempts to retrieve our democracy become futile.
- Mishy Lesser, Boston, Massachusetts

Democracy's Edge is about real people, and about making democracy real. From America's rural heartland to our largest cities, Frances Moore Lappe chronicles the actions of ordinary people whom she has met and interviewed, who are taking action to improve things in their communities. Democracy's Edge is a combination of practical information on issues, telling the story of various communities, and a hopeful yet pragmatic visioning. It reminds me of another great American writer and commentator, Studs Terkel. It is an important work for anyone interested in building a democracy -- a society in which people hold the power to govern.
- Mark Schultz, Minnesota

Lappé is a pioneer in democratic thought and action. Democracy's Edge exemplifies her path blazing role in keeping democracy alive in our time.
-Cornel West
Professor, Princeton University

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