Hold the Line: A guide to defending democracy

“What they’re most scared of is mass noncooperation. And when mass noncooperation is organized and strategic and targeted well, it has shown again and again that it can protect democracy and challenge authoritarianism.” – Hardy Merriman

How can we defend and support our democracy, which feels so vulnerable as we head into this election? What are some concrete actions that we — even those of us who are non-experts and non-activists — can take to strengthen ourselves and empower each other to choose the next president fairly? This week, Nonviolence Radio explores these questions and others with Hardy Merriman, president and CEO of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) and coauthor of Hold the Line: A guide to defending democracy.

Based on almost two decades in the field, Hardy uses his experience to offer us concrete, practical advice about just what we can do now to stand up for our Constitution and protect the principles it rests upon. “What I’m telling people” Hardy says, “is that, when we think about what might Trump do or what might his allies do, that’s speculation. The real question in the next 20 days is: what can we do?” And in fact, there is quite a lot.

We need not be overwhelmed, we can bring about change if we learn some basic tools of nonviolence that have been proven to be effective, time and again, both here and abroad. Working together, we can ‘hold the line’ and ensure that the upcoming election reflects true democracy.

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