Genocide is a part of human history. It has been committed by every major religion and ethnicity, at times within the same group. According to ancient sources, the Jews were both perpetuators and victims of genocide.[1] The ancient Greeks often destroyed cities that they defeated with everyone in them.[2] Enslavement and extermination of native Africans and Americans started with colonialism and continued into the 19th Century. We still are coming to grips with the numerous European genocides of the 20th century, while slaughters based on ethnicity and political oppression continue in our own day in places like Myanmar and Syria.

What we discussed briefly in our group, and will continue to consider, is why people commit atrocities toward each other. What is it in the minds of human beings (maybe even me and some of you?) that creates a division between us and the “other” to the extent that we begin to believe that “they” — people who are different in ethnicity or view — are not quite human? Why do some people (including some of us?) see others as threats and sources of such discomfort that they want them altogether extinguished? Are we all capable of being inspired to work ourselves into a frenzy of hatred and bigotry?

Hannah Arendt, in her book describing the 1961 trial of Adolph Eichmann,[3] commented on “his inability to think...from the standpoint of someone else.” Her subtitle implies that evil is more common than we realize; perhaps everyone is capable of it. But why do human beings (including me and you?) often focus only on our differences rather than what we have in common, resulting in an inability or unwillingness to experience the humanity of others? Why do people (you and me at times?) judge others as evil because they have different views, or different backgrounds, or different ethnic characteristics? Is there a slippery slope from condemning the views or ethnicity of others to considering them and their lives invalid? Are we more likely to hold such views if they are believed by those around us?

We might think that in our modern democratic political settings we never would threaten the lives of those who represent views different from our own, yet that is happening in many nations that recently were considered democracies, such as Russia, Turkey and the Philippines. Do we think that the people of those nations are unlike us? In the US we label ethnic groups which seek asylum an invasion, even though most of our ancestors were at one time asylum seekers. Murder often has been committed in the US based on hatred toward those who some consider less than human: the slaughter of native tribes, lynchings in the South, and the recent murder in Charlottesville, Virginia.

People (including us?) seek to simplify their understanding of others in a complex world. This leads to dividing others into good and evil, and once evil they and their lives don’t really matter. When people (anyone?) consider others to be not quite human the next step is wanting to be rid of them. Our tribal nature can cause us to no longer see others as people like ourselves but only as obstacles in our paths.

How can we move past this inveterate tribalism? Can we extend our concept of our tribe to include those we once excluded, as has been done when nations were forged out of smaller states? Can we create larger alliances by acknowledging the validity of others, identifying common priorities, and agreeing on how best to move forward?

Moving past tribalism to identify a common path will be the basis of our discussions in the New Year. We will focus on areas where we have struggled to progress, such as immigration, education, economics, the environment, prison reform, and health care. We will determine our goals in these areas based on the democratic principle of universal respect, and how implementing them would look in the real world. Democracy only has succeeded — and will succeed — when we focus on what unites us rather than on that which divides us.

Our November 12, 2018, topic was Truth and Democracy.
We opened our discussion by having group members discuss their ideas about what is essential to democracy:
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1. People participate in their own government. Free speech is allowed without consequences, except where it endangers others.
2. Government is essentially by the people and can be changed by the people. Voting is a basic right.
3. People have open communication with their government representatives about their complaints and concerns.
4. Democracy requires an educated population of individuals who can think for themselves, and who can understand and act on its principles.
5. Everyone has basic minimal human rights that cannot be taken away. Minorities are protected from domination by the majority. 
   
   

We discussed an article, “Democracy and its Discontents,” about how democracy is not self-sustaining, but must be actively maintained by those who support it. Although many take it for granted, democracy requires continual participation from its citizens. It requires an awareness of how leaders may lead us away from true democratic principles by pursuing only the interests of those who support or agree with them, rather than a dedication to the “general welfare” as stated by the Constitution. Maintaining democracy requires an understanding that genuine self-interest means laws and policies that guarantee the rights of everyone, rather than just a few. In a real democracy the government assures that the rights all are protected. 
 
The most essential truth in a democratic society is that everyone is considered an equally valid human being and all have “inalienable rights.” Moving toward greater equality and respect for everyone is democracy’s most basic principle; where “the people” are the ultimate authority rather than any person or party. But people — and their representatives — always will have different views about how best to move toward the realization of this principle. Thus we need an ongoing respectful discussion toward a common understanding of how it is to be achieved.
 
Authoritarian governments perpetuate the myths that some people are superior to others to maintain their authority. They promote views that serve their narrow purposes, especially about the infallibility of their leaders and their decisions. Many modern countries that claim to be democratic have moved away from a commitment to equality, even though their constitutions guarantee democracy. Some nations that have had revolutions — and once moved toward democracy — now have lost much of their democratic impulse and are dominated by one political, economic or ethnic group at the expense of others, resulting in a diminishment of equal rights.
 
A commitment to the essential truth of democracy — that all human beings are of equal value — is needed to determine the form that the government takes. One element is that people are free to question the views expressed by their leaders. Revolutions often result when autocratic governments suppress free expression.
 
The principle of equality is difficult to achieve in practice. No nation is totally democratic — there is no perfect “government by the people” — but as nations progress toward greater democracy they move closer to making equality a lived reality. The United States, according to Abraham Lincoln, was founded on “the proposition that all men are created equal,” but initially only extended equal rights to white men, then eventually to men of color, then women, which took 130 years.
 
Equal opportunity is essential so that all have a chance to develop their skills and talents. In our day many still lack opportunities for education, find it difficult to vote, and do not receive equal justice based on race or background. We have come a long way but still have far to go toward realizing the democratic vision.
 
Beginning in January, 2019, we will explore how the ideals of democracy look when they guide our governments and lives in many essential areas. The topics of future discussions and newsletters will include immigration, international relations, economics, globalism, human rights, nationalism, racism, trade, economics, free speech, freedom of the press, criminal justice reform, social benefits, the safety net, effective leadership, the environment, the justice system, and others relevant topics. We will clarify specific actions needed to maintain democracy in these areas in light of its diminishment around the world — and its threats within the US — as we approach the 2020 presidential elections. 
 
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The book The Future of Democracy can be ordered wherever books are sold.
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