ORDINARY PEOPLE, EXTRAORDINARY TIMES

A well-practiced activist offers a program for promoting democratic values in an undemocratic age.

Perryman, president of the nonprofit Democracy Forward, writes that although Americans “don’t like bullies or the rule of kings,” our institutions have failed to keep a certain case in point from shredding established laws and norms. Congress, for instance, has failed to protect existing voting rights, while the Supreme Court has given the president carte blanche with its declaration of immunity from prosecution. In this regard, Perryman writes, “it is not our institutions that will save us…but the people.” Much of her book consists of advice on how to exercise one’s rights as an engaged citizen. The very first step is registering to vote and then voting. At a still more advanced level, Perryman urges her readers to organize town halls, even if their elected officials don’t show up, as is usual these days. In a time when television hosts are being canceled for opposing the administration’s excesses, she also points to the success of threatened boycotts to change corporate minds, at least in the case of Jimmy Kimmel. Given that legacy media, such as The Washington Post, are increasingly fearful of running afoul of the administration, Perryman suggests following independent and especially local media sources to “make certain that you receive factual information that is as free as possible from corporate or government pressure.” (Usefully, she also notes that much so-called news is really opinion, which is “not a substitute for factual reporting.”) On that local front, the author urges her readers to buy local when possible, avoiding the big box stores and online giants. Perhaps the most difficult part of her eminently sensible program is seeking out people whom we might consider political enemies but share interests and common values—on the latter of which she carefully adds, “where they exist.”

A welcome survival manual for those living under an authoritarian regime.