(lively music)
- One of the coolest things about walking
through the streets of
Philly and meeting people
with different stories is that
the United States was built
with the stories of people
from all over the world.
And the people that shaped
our democracy included
Indigenous intellectuals,
Black and Brown women,
folks that were part of
the abolitionist movement.
But when we think about
the future of democracy
and making it fair and equitable,
that's not something that
most people have experienced.
And it's an opportunity for us to live in
to the promise of democracy.
(lively music)
Democracy needs a redesign.
And what that presents
us is an opportunity
to reimagine a democracy
that works for everyone.
So everybody, I want
you to close your eyes
for a second and I want you to think
about your wildest dream for democracy.
- Just to have that freedom,
that freedom of choice
and the freedom to know that I count,
what I say and what I
believe in has purpose,
and hopefully someone will
be there to represent me
and what I want, and what I
feel will be good for all.
The power is from the people.
- [Shari] Yes.
- And for the people.
- I think about people coming together
to really advocate for
what they want to see.
- If we may have a different opinion
we can find a middle ground.
- A world where people are actually able
to truly see one another,
to meet one another,
and to support one another.
- Why not just be the change?
- Democracy only works if people impacted
by decisions are able to participate
in the democratic system.
- We have an election that's coming up
for student government.
- How about we do like,
recommendations from like,
teachers and like, show like,
(class discussing)
- That's a good idea.
- Listening is an essential
ingredient in democracy
and the reality is when we
don't practice listening,
it limits our ability to
incorporate the things
that we have heard and learned from others
into the path forward that we chart.
- This is actually a mural on a container
that was opened up as a
people's budget office,
and so people literally
could have post-it notes,
and then the question was like, where,
what needs to be funded and
what's important to you?
- That is incredible.
When democracy doesn't include everyone
what happens is there are
so many people whose voice,
whose livelihood is not
considered in the laws
and policies that we make
in the United States.
When we think about
participation, it doesn't have
to look like what it's looked like before.
We can design it so that it's
fun, it meets us where we are,
it's exciting, and it makes sense.
(lively music)
As people engage in
participatory democracy,
their life changes.
Not only does their
perspective of what's possible
in democracy change, but
their likelihood to volunteer
in their community
changes, their likelihood
to consider running for
political office changes.
- [Government Official] On behalf
of the United States Citizenship
and Immigration Services,
it is my sincere pleasure to welcome you
to this special naturalization ceremony.
- I think about democracy as
a living, breathing thing.
It's like a tapestry that
we're stitching together.
- Congratulations to each of you.
With that, you are now citizens
of the United States of America.
(audience applauding)
(dramatic music)
- There are parts of it
that we can look back to
and learn from and there's so much of it
that hasn't been stitched yet,
that hasn't yet been woven.
I challenge folks to
think about what they want
to see in democracy.
(dramatic music)