Why I marched with Democracy Spring

| Nick Nyhart

Last Thursday and Friday, along with several of my colleagues and Sam Waterston, I joined the Democracy Spring march near Baltimore. Today the marchers are in Washington, D.C., joined by hundreds of others, engaging in non-violent civil disobedience to further pro-democracy reform. Thousands more will expand their ranks over the coming week.

I’ll be there myself, later this week with Democracy Awakening, also making a personal choice to risk arrest.

Both events have a common goal: to break down the barriers in our political system that keep everyday people from running for office and being heard in the process, whether through voting restrictions or campaign finance laws that ultimately benefit a relatively tiny handful of extremely wealthy elites.

I’ve worked as an organizer for nearly 40 years to empower people around the issues that most impact their lives. The disconnect between government decision-making and the aspirations and fortunes of so many Americans has not been greater in its breadth and depth during my lifetime.

If there were ever a moment to take or support extraordinary action, it is now.

As we marched near Baltimore, I asked several of the people walking next to me why they had come to Democracy Spring. Nancy told me it was because government wasn’t working for every person. Daniel said it was because he hadn’t served two decades in the military to protect an oligarchy instead of a democracy. Monica told me it was for the children in her home state of Michigan. John proudly told me he was committed to coming when he heard about it online. He prepped for the 140-mile journey by walking every day, first three miles a day, but working up to 15 (and losing 30 pounds in the process) before driving from California to participate. The marchers are as American as state fairs, cold beer, and apple pie.

Marching and civil disobedience, by themselves, won’t change the current dismantlement of our democratic system. That will also take new policy victories that come from the in-the-trenches work of grassroots lobbying, engaging in pro-democracy ballot initiatives, and defeating elected officials who protect the present arrangements. But these strategies alone won’t bust gridlock. Increasing discontent with political business as usual and the continuing degradation of what remains of our democratic process, have made a new moment in this fight, one that is moving to the fore this coming week. People who feel cynical about the process can look to these actions to see they aren’t alone in wanting change.

There is a long-honored and successful tradition in this country of non-violent civil disobedience as a tool to break intransigence on the part of the powers that be. This week, several Every Voice staff and many of our allies, aligned in favor of making every voter count, will make an individual choice to join the countless patriots who have gone before them.

Nick Nyhart Nick Nyhart is the president of Every Voice Center.