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Dear friend,
Democracy is under attack. On this Giving Tuesday, make a gift to fight back.
In July, the Washington Post published a report claiming that one-third of the world’s population was living in a “backsliding democracy.”1
Experts now estimate that more than half of the human beings on this planet live in a place where democracy is directly under threat. That includes the US, where elites have used voter suppression, gerrymandering and other tactics to thwart the popular will.
The Trumps, Dutertes, and Bolsonaros want us to give in and accept authoritarianism. We won't. We can't let fear win.
Will you give to NEC to save (and expand) democracy?
Through worker cooperatives, community land trusts, credit unions and many other visionary strategies, NEC is redefining what democracy looks like.
Our vision is a world where power is shared among the many, instead of hoarded by the few. We get there by putting democracy back in the hands of people, one step at a time. The more people experience their collective power, the more they will demand it.
We know, for example, that when people experience participatory budgeting first hand they are more likely to get involved in the daily civic life of their community, including voting in elections.2 As our friends and NEC members, Movement Generation like to say: "What the hands do, the heart learns."
This Giving Tuesday, make a gift to expand democracy from the voting booth to the economy. Together we will fight back, with vision and with hope.
With you,
Anand Jahi
Interim Co-Director, NEC
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1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/07/03/one-third-of-the-worlds-population-lives-in-a-declining-democracy-that-includes-americans
2. https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/participatory-budgeting-increases-voter-turnout-7/
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