"Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport"

This Sunday, if you're able to take some time out from the hustle of the holiday season, watch The People Speak a new documentary airing on the History Channel at 8/7c. (And if you don't get the History Channel, but are interested I'm sure you can access clips & possibly the whole event online at: http://www.history.com/content/people-speak)

This program will be narrated by Howard Zinn and is based on his books A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People's History.



For me - this is likely to be an exciting program to watch because Zinn was one of the first historians to make history about people and their stories, rather than dates, battles, and dry facts. And this 'people's history' is just the type of history we need to focus on if we are going to truly learn from and celebrate the past.

This is also a reminder of what can be great about the United States, something which - in the daily grind of working for long-term goals of better health care coverage for all in the United States, or working to get language about peaceful prevention into bills, or building support for green-legislation - we often forget. I know some of us interns will be watching and I hope you get the chance to tune in as well.

Remember, as they say in the film, "democracy is not a spectator sport" so take time to watch and then find those one or two things you can do to make an impact on issues you care about!

In peace,
~Rachael

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