Amid the horrors wrought by Covid-19, some of the news offers hope — for a longer-term revival of democracy.
That’s the theme of the latest edition of the New Haven Independent V‑log News Summary, direct from our assignment desk. Otherwise known as my compost heap.
Click on the video above to watch it.
Amid the pandemic, New Haven has been making strides in digital democracy, labor unity, and ranked-choice voting, with vote-by-mail hopes on the horizon.
Here are links to some of the stories mentioned in the video:
• Safe From Zoom Bombs, Management Team Dives Into Housing
• Hamden Council, Too, Gets Zoom Bombed
• Alders Meeting Zoom Bombed
• YNHH Workers Win Covid-19 Pay Bump
• Merrill: Covid-19 Requires A “His Or Her” Excision
• Ranked-Choice Result: Bridge Will Be Green
• “Food Garage” Feeds Families During Covid
• Drive-Thru Donors Replenish Food Pantry
• Frontline Providers Hustle To Keep City Fed
• City Steps Up Food Access Efforts
• Frontline Helpers Feed Frontline Workers
• 1,000 Frontline Meals
Good Morning All! Getting ready to watch to this video but read the intro first. Here is what I am looking for. How do the few examples Paul uses at the end of the article indicate a revival of democracy? People helping people is more a revival of philanthropy, charity, and mercy. Everything online for voting and democracy opens the door to a tsunami of fraud and corruption--- I ask questions via email of BOE meetings and am no longer acknowledged. They just erase the questions they don't want to address. A public meeting where I am physically present & signed my name to speak cannot be avoided. THAT is democracy and civic activism. Sitting on your bum at home is not going to get you anywhere. Your will be suppressed even more easy electronically, than ever!
Now- I'll hear the audio and find out!!
[Paul: thank you for this comment. I agree with you. Online democracy is no substitute for in -person democracy. I think the optimistic vision here is to find a way to include people who otherwise would not be there in person so they can participate too. During the pandemic, we can't do both. I'm hoping we can do both well afterwards. Along with ranked choice voting. And an expanded mail/in voting system that cards against fraud. And more of a say by workers in how their workplaces run. I do not think we are there by any means. I am hoping that a few positive examples now set the groundwork for more progress later.]