Traveling, hiking, and fitness are all part of living in Boulder. The Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage in Europe has those plus sociability, spirituality, and personal growth. Still, the 10-day journey from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to the Capitol in Washington, D.C., beginning April 2, has even more, the opportunity to renew the spirit through collective action.

Americans’ confidence in Congress is around eight percent, lower than any other U.S. institution (Gallup poll). The reasons are institutional, not personal. Members of Congress must spend 30 to 70 percent of their time raising money for their re-election campaigns. Without such funding, they lose their jobs. With such funding, their work is distorted and distracted; they can’t represent us. Donald Trump drew attention to this at the first presidential debate, Aug. 6, 2015, when he bragged about how he gave money to politicians so that he could later get favors from them. He even said that he used donations to get Hillary Clinton to go to his wedding.

The time is ripe. Frustration with the status quo is at an all-time high. Voters from Maine to Seattle have passed bold new laws to enact citizen-funded elections.

The challenge is to come together as citizens to improve the institution of Congress through nonpartisan, peaceful action. DemocracySpring.org, a coalition of more than 50 organizations, aims to change from whom our representatives raise their money with a small set of reform bills which are, or will be, pending before Congress in April. At a minimum, they will include a strong citizen- or public-financing bill, a bill to restore the Voting Rights Act, and a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

It is legislation on which all other legislation depends. Join us.

Chris Hansen

Boulder