"Would you be able to advocate for yourself and your family? What if you never had the chance to learn skills for focusing on decisions or asking questions? How would that affect you? And, in a democracy, what if a large portion of the citizenry is not focusing on key decisions made by elected officials? What if they are not asking questions about the reasons behind the decisions, the processes for making those decisions and the role they could play in the decision-making processes? Oh, maybe these are not hypothetical questions."- From the Educational Strategy Page of the Right Question Project's website.
My belief that people should advocate from where they stand recently caused my roommate to accuse me of being his "most conservative friend," which is kind of like calling me the tannest person at an albino convention. Of course, I explained, it's not simple. To advocate for yourself you have to be empowered to do so. You have to believe you can make change and understand the issues affecting you and your community. Behold The Right Question Project.
I randomly came across the office of The Right Question Project while killing time before my doctor's appointment, and boy am I glad I did. More so than any other organization, including the Democratic Party, this one's mission of creating microdemocracy encapsulates up my world view.
"'Microdemocracy,' defined as individuals using essential democratic skills to participate in decisions made in their ordinary encounters with public institutions such as their children's school, the job training program, the welfare office and Medicaid-funded health services. Those encounters are often the endpoint of engagement with the public sector. They can become, instead, the first step up the ladder of democratic action."
I don't really think there is anything I can add to that, except that I plan to call them tomorrow, and that you should check 'em out.
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