Humanity can prevail over violence & corruption

Last January’s attack on American democracy shows us that every choice we make matters. There is a far more constructive way to build political will, and everyone has a right to that better way.

On January 6, 2021, a mob of violent extremists, radicalized by a defeated President and his allies, attacked the United States Capitol Building—the seat of American democratic government—in an explicitly expressed effort to stop the Constitutional process of certifying the 2020 election results.

That day was a tragedy for the people of the United States, and for all people who trust in the humanizing necessity of democratic institutions. It was a tragedy for everyone who wants power to answer to the basic dignity of the human person, for the powerful to act in service of those who do not hold power.

It is painful to think that brutal violence, instigated by lies, could potentially strip away all that protects the rights of hundreds of millions of people. It is a cruel reality hundreds of millions of people, in many places, have lived for far too long.

There is a lesson from that sad day, however, that we can take heart in: The institutions of democracy held, and elected leaders from every segment of the political spectrum, including lawmakers solidly more conservative and right-leading than Trump himself, condemned the violence, denounced the attempted coup, and promised accountability. His own Vice President, hunted by the attackers, refused to flee in terror and later carried out his responsibilities under the Constitution, formally acknowledging the people’s vote and securing a peaceful transfer of power.

It is a sign of our fragility that we needed key individuals, facing violent threats, to make such choices, or else all might have been lost. It is also a sign of the transformational meaning of each person’s better intentions and their willingness to work in service of others.

Citizens’ Climate volunteers went to Capitol Hill in June 2019 (before the pandemic) to have scheduled policy meetings with their elected representatives. This is what democracy looks like. Citizens can build political will.

That is what holds societies together. That is what prevents tyranny and injustice.

The forces arrayed against human rights and self government, the networks that corrupt and threaten human societies, are still at work today, in the US and elsewhere. The best hope for humankind, for our ability to construct and manage a world that works for everyone, and to secure a livable climate future, is in those better and more meaningful choices made every day by individuals and communities.

Citizens’ Climate International exists to empower citizen volunteers to have breakthroughs in the exercise of their personal and political power.

• That means working with people of all backgrounds to support their constructive, peaceful engagement with policy-makers.

• It means committing to do the hard work of shaping civic spaces that allow decency to prevail.

• It means recognizing that we all have a right to live free from the injustice of preventable harm.

• And, it means modeling political activity that is thoughtful, evidence-based, nonviolent, and supports everyone’s success.

We believe everyone’s chances of success, including governments and industry, are enhanced when the design of our world is shaped by the needs and aspirations of all people. All of us can find meaning in the work of making the world safer for everyone, one step at a time.

Everything ultimately depends on what each of us chooses to do. Our team, and our global network of citizen volunteers, will keep working to create that space for more meaningful, more sustainable, future-building civic engagement. We invite you to get involved and help to shape your world for the better.