title: competing theories on why the fbi reopened the hillary email server investigation
text: eight ways to strengthen our democracy beyond voting the strength of our civic life depends on what we do outside elections by chuck collins   chuck collins 
  throughout this trying election season weve been told how much is at stake with our vote but the success of any democracy depends on continuing to pay attention long after we cast our ballots 
  so lets pledge to strengthen our democracy with a few resolutions to focus our intentions and keep us moving forward over the next four years 
   change your media diet  
  way too much ink airtime and mental real estate has been consumed by the horserace reporting on electionsits all about whos winning and losing so unplug from the talk shows that interview pollsters and engage in partisan bickering all day find the commentators and independent media outlets that strengthen our civic life 
   turn off corporate media 
  this election has been very profitable for big media corporations but bad for our democracy as cbs chairman les moonves remarked  man who would have expected the ride were all having right now the moneys rolling in and this is fun 
  our differences have been compounded by media reports that amplify the loudest and most partisan utterances election coverage this year has encouraged us to view one another as cartoon caricatures not neighbors 
   reject the consumer mentality in elections  
  were encouraged to view national elections like consumers buying a car but presidential elections can make most of us feel like spectators not participants election day is a small part of our real democracythink of voting as a tiny fraction of your civic life 
   make your voice heard  
  pledge to communicate with your elected officials all year round not just when they want your vote call write email and attend community forums when a politician hears from a dozen constituents with the same concern it matters 
  a few resolutions must address our polarized political atmosphere the only way to break through this is by connecting with people we dont always agree with 
  for instance the liberal california sociologist arlie hochschild spent five years interviewing conservative tea party activists in louisiana making friends and asking deep questions she urges us all to scale the empathy wall and learn each others stories 
  heres a few easy ways to get started 
  try a social media fast 
  social media is amazing but it mostly serves as an echo chamber to reinforce our existing views its not a substitute for talking to people asking questions and learning why people support certain policies 
   practice the art of civil discourse  
  find ways to meet others facetoface to engage in conversations not soapbox speeches and debates look at the  living room conversation  movement that brings people together across political divisions their goal is to encourage authentic respectful conversations to strengthen relationships and advance understanding of the challenges opportunities and solutions before us 
  finally other resolutions should focus on changing our polarizing election system 
   eliminate the wealth primary  
  long before voters cast their ballots in a primary big money donors have winnowed the field and selected who will stand for election people all across the political spectrum agree that we need fundamental campaign finance reform to reduce the influence of big money including the repeal of citizens united  
   break the twoparty duopoly  
  a growing number of voters have declared independence from the two major parties so why do we allow other voices and perspectives to be excluded from presidential debates our democracy would benefit if we had real choices outside the two major parties as they do in most other countries in the world 
  the strength of our civic life depends on what we do outside elections and especially after the deeply toxic experience of  we all need to step up to protect our real democracy from those who profit from division 
  chuck collins coedits inequalityorg at the institute for policy studies and is author of the new book born on third base a one percenter makes the case for tackling inequality bringing wealth home and committing to the common good  distributed by otherwordsorg   permalink