Parades – We Celebrate Democracy | Civil Rights for All

Upcoming Events

Is the United States a Democracy?

with Tim Kipp and Friends

Brattleboro Democracy Forum

Tuesday, September 7th, at 6:30 pm on Zoom

The forum will be recorded and will air on BCTV and WVEW. Please join the discussion

This is a re-presentation of our July 6th meeting. The video was not good so we are redoing it for BCTV. If you were at the July 6 meeting please join us. Since we've all had time to let thoughts percolate in our heads It could lead to a really good discussion. To join the Zoom Meeting copy this URL into your search bar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84509560179?pwd=SEppeEo5Z25VMThSMVdRajdPQkJIZz09

Tim Kipp says:

The founders created a rhetorical and historical trap for themselves and us.- as the story goes, we are a nation founded on an idea, the promise of democracy. And when, at those times when the people try to cash that promissory note demanding the country live up to its articulated ideas, the people are most often met with government intransigence, opposition and or class and white backlash. Tim Kipp is a retired history and political science teacher of 39 years and a political activist since the 1960s. Is the United States a Democracy? Tim's synopsis: The US was founded on undemocratic principles; Plymouth and Jamestown were built on religious intolerance, imperialism, systemic racism and Genocide. How could it be democratic when people were driven from the land; slaughtered; or enslaved as animals? The Native population in Northern America went from c.10-20 million in1500 to 250,000 in 1900. Africans were captured and made slaves for nearly 250 years, reaching a peak of 4 million in bondage by the time of the Civil War. This country is still confronted with the consequences of this legacy of oppression. During the horrendous Regime of Trump, political analysts, mainstream media, and conventional historians conjured the decline of, the erosion of, the assault on, the undermining of, the twilight of, or the pending end days of our democracy. This presentation posits that we are not a democracy. While there have been magnificent and significant episodes of true struggles for democracy- they have only come as a reaction to the absence of democracy. It is the victims of this political and economic system who have led the struggle for real democracy. Real democracy in the United States happens when the people fight back: the Civil Rights, Women’s, Peace, Labor, Gender Identity and Environmental Rights movements, etc. The founders created a rhetorical and historical trap for themselves and us- as the story goes, we are a nation founded on an idea, the promise of democracy. And when, at those times when the people try to cash that promissory note demanding the country live up to its articulated ideas, the people are most often met with government intransigence, opposition and or class and white backlash. The Trump Regime was not an aberration. It was a logical consequence of an undemocratic system. I will explore the undemocratic nature of our system from an historical and structural perspective by examining key aspects of the Constitution; Federalism; the Representative System; the Party System; and the Supreme Court. And time permitting, offer a vision of what real democracy looks like.

Organized by We Celebrate Democracy Civil Rights For All, dedicated to positive nonviolent, nonprofit, public action for democracy and civil rights for all people. Contact: woodybernhard48@gmail.com 802 258 7045 To join the Zoom Meeting copy this URL into your search bar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84509560179?pwd=SEppeEo5Z25VMThSMVdRajdPQkJIZz09 Meeting ID: 845 0956 0179 Passcode: 150977 One tap mobile +13017158592,,84509560179#,,,,*150977# US (Washington DC) +13126266799,,84509560179#,,,,*150977# US (Chicago) Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 845 0956 0179 Passcode: 150977 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kp8p6n8Ct