2/13/2024 Meeting Notes: Hopes and Concerns, for the Coming Year 2024, Individually and Nationally

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·         Introductions and announcements

o   Several events for late February were discussed.

o   Douglass conducted a straw poll that indicated nobody would have any objection to having some monthly Fairfax Alliance events on Monday evenings rather than our traditional Tuesday; the challenge is just good advance notification of meeting details.

o   Dan handed out the ideas generated at our December meeting.

o   Dan summarized upcoming Ambassador-related topics – please contact Dan with any interest in helping out:

§  We’re part of a tri-state collaboration conducting a Rural/Urban debate in Berkeley Springs, WV on 3/2

§  We’ll get an earlier start on the annual Arlington County fair in August (we just missed them selling out of tables in late July 2023)

§  We’re initiating conversations with the Franklin County, VA NAACP to support a MAAV initiative in 2025

§  We’re looking to support the Danville, VA library with a BA presentation TBD

o   Donna suggested that BA (at any level, local to national) reprise the Hold America Together initiative from the 2020 election season.  Donna led the attendees in walking through a set of call and response statements of commitment to civic action.

·         The topic for open discussion was a full and honest discussion of our hopes and concerns, individually and nationally, for the coming year.  Points made during the discussion included:

o   Shock that some Americans doubt the value of democracy.

o   A question about the resiliency of democracy; how to reach folks who don’t want to be reached?

§  The current Congress takes too simplistic an approach to solving problems, when in reality the issues are quite complex and need more thoughtful analyses and solutions

§  Do we have too much freedom in a democracy? Some people, particularly immigrants used to authoritarian regimes, may think we have too much

§  Polls show less trust in democracy with younger cohorts having the least commitment to democracy.  Cause may be related to economic mobility/malaise; belief in self-governance wanes if things seem out of control.  Not necessarily enthusiasm for authoritarianism as much as no enthusiasm for democracy – “it’s not working”.  This results in political indifference – detachment, rather than feeling invested in the future of the nation.  This mindset also correlates positively with education level, though the effect is weaker than with age.

§  There is a desire for strong leadership.  Younger people seem open to a strong person who will “just fix all this.” 

§  Each side feels the other side is violating norms

o   A discussion on terminology followed (e.g., it’s easy to use terms like “democracy” when the speaker may be referring more specifically to “Congress”, or the classic “keep your government hands off my social security payment”.)

o   America’s current form of democracy is different from the pure concept.

o   We’re at a fulcrum in terms of the world order; a concern is that the US inherited the world order at the end of WWII (i.e., Marshall Plan) and our role as a global leader (Trump NATO example)

o   We need to drill deeper into the meaning of terms like “authoritarianism” and “democracy” to really have the needed discussion.  We might discover that most Americans really want the same things.

o   A fear for this election cycle is physical violence

o   Both sides feel that they are fighting to save democracy, so they are justified in “taking the gloves off” to fight the other side.  This can unintentionally slide into authoritarianism, not by design, but because of the chosen tactics.  Both sides seem to be driven by a deep pessimism.

o   Historically, most dictatorships rose to power by saying they were correcting abuses.

o   A discussion on immigration included the following notes:

§  Trump statements on tanking Senator Lankford’s immigration proposal, to preserve it as campaign issue

§  David French NYT Opinion to pass the bill; need statutory system.

§  Concern about blanket parole for nationalities – that’s in Biden’s control.  But Biden can’t turn down asylum seekers (and they sometimes jump in the queue)

o   Politics is the root of the immigration mess.  Solving it will require some mechanism (ranked choice voting, perhaps?) to help centrists who will value teamwork rise to power. 

o   What are our core American values?  Defining the “Creed of America” would be an interesting discussion

o   Dysfunction in congress – the concept of give and take has disappeared.  One participant expressed an opinion that we almost need a Constitutional Convention to reset norms.  It has been decades since Congress operated by “regular order.”  Lack of accountability for decisions; increases.  National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.  Smerconish “Mingle Project” outreach has included John Wood.

o   A discussion on fears regarding the pace of change in society included the following elements:

§  Part of concern is pace of societal change; white collar workers will be threatened by AI just as manufacturing has come under fire (globalism, climate change, etc.)

§  Job evolution always change, even if pace is increasing

§  Add CRISPR to the list of accelerating changes.  Jeremy Rifkin would be a possible local speaker about the difficulty of forecasting which leads to a sense of loss of control. 

§  Term limits could particularly appeal to younger voters who fear loss of control.  Perhaps POTUS should be limited to a single term of five or six years.

§  Do we pay people to vote?

§  The Coddling of the American Mind by Jonathan Haidt shows some of the root causes.

§  Change may be accelerating or not, but generally societal progress has been for higher quality.  The perception of fear is maybe self-perpetuating

§  Example of decades of trends leading to gay marriage feels like sudden lack of control

§  How do we deal with the effect of changing times on people’s deeply ingrained belief systems?

§  What are the threats of AI and disinformation? 

o   How to address disinformation to help ourselves and others?   Center for Humane Technology podcasts and Yuval Harari  on AI risks are two resources.

o   Discussion on concerns about guns yielded the following ideas:

§  Going where reds are like the gun range.

§  Gaining a better understanding of what makes people want to use guns.  One person has a friend who owns guns because they “make him feel tough.”

§  Joel Osteen missed the opportunity to speak up after the event at his church.

§  Australia has a success story with gun control

§  Can also be an educational issue (Scouts example)

§  Stronger “pro-life” positions on gun control would be helpful; responsible gun use OK, but not irresponsible.  I agree with Pope Francis that “pro-life” should encompass all life; if the pro-life lobby engaged against guns, it could turn the tide.

§  An informal poll indicated about 5 attendees have had some direct effect of domestic gun violence

§  Discussion on how much gun control another topic that first needs a change to government structure contrasted with enforcing existing rules/regs.

The meeting wrap-up included key takeaways with many expressing gratefulness for the thoughtful comments and non-judgmental conversation with a diversity of opinions.