Defining The American Dream
"So we're about to go back to SNAP benefits that run out after 20 days and require unhealthy eating habits for seniors and single parents and other low income families to survive! Sad that we can't keep these benefits for our country's poorer citizens. And we are glad that our county jail is not like the Harrison County Indiana Jail where jailors act more like inquisitors from the Middle Ages than protectors of citizens."
Our IDWSC "Just Facts" Campaign
The Independent Democratic Women overwhelmingly came to the conclusion that facts matter. In this world of ours we need to be aware of what is real and what is not and we decided to take on the task of clarifying some misunderstandings and falsehoods that seem to surround and affect our lives more and more. Thus we came up with our “Just Facts” campaign.
It may not be obvious how politics and how we view the world in today’s United States shapes us and inflicts pain on us, and gives us a leg up, and equalizes us or contributes to our inequality. Having the facts, we believe, can help us view our world in a fairer and certainly more rational way. For example, is a healthy and aesthetically pleasing environment important to us? The facts tell us that our environment is at risk. Are women’s choices about their reproductive health guaranteed? In today’s world this fact is being disputed. Does the Second Amendment of our Constitution provide for free and unfettered access and use of any gun, anytime, anywhere? The facts say otherwise. Are we guaranteed by our Constitution the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit
of Happiness? Some untruths attack these rights for some people. Are our voting rights under attack? What’s the truth about voter ID laws? What’s the truth about voter fraud? What’s the truth about election fraud? What’s the truth about climate change?
We have heard from young women and seen for ourselves from young and old, that much of our country’s efforts to teach U.S. Civics to our nation’s citizens has gone wrong. We hope to do our small part toward setting the record straight on how our democracy is supposed to work and on what rights we have as citizens of these United States.
And finally, but not the least of it, we hope to lessen the great political divide in our community. We think listening to our neighbors while setting out some facts that we can all agree on, will perhaps not be walking the mile, but will be starting out on the trip to polite discourse, and intelligent debate. We believe that employing tools like agreeing to disagree, researching factual information, reaching consensus, and loving our neighbors, can go a long way toward bridging the destructive political divide that seems to be entrenched in our communities.
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Hosts
Barbara Scott
Liz Kearney
Judy Herschel
Production
Barbara Scott
Judy Herschel
John Hotvedt
Amanda Cook
Tyler Petriello
Music Composed By
Carl Hagstrom
Established 2019