Inspired By Grassroots Change
In a world clouded by COVID-19, polarized politics, and a dysfunctional federal government, it is easy to become discouraged. As is usually the case, however, there are still many intrepid Americans who believe that our institutions can be improved and that we as individuals can make a difference. One of those is Kevin Bowe.
Kevin recently produced and released a series of short documentaries called American Spring. In them he covered grassroots movements in the areas of ranked choice voting, anti-gerrymandering, and public financing of campaigns. Here, in Kevin’s words, are what motivated him:
“It is not hard to find the media covering stories about our dysfunctional political system that frustrates people of all political stripes. Yet, when there is an opportunity for media outlets to cover stories about nonpartisan reform ideas that may improve our system--like last month's American Academy of Arts and Sciences report "Reinventing America"--the media does not cover it (unless you watch PBS NewsHour or listen to NPR).
I've been long aware of the media's lack of interest in telling meaningful stories about the state of our political system. In fact, I made a documentary about that based on my coverage of the 2016 Presidential race. So as someone interested in exploring issues around democratic reform--with media skills--I decided to take things into my own hands and produce a series of short documentaries called American Spring about the "green sprouts" of democracy reforms that can increase trust and reduce hyper-partisanship in our system. So far the 10-minute episodes look at the Ranked Choice Voting experience in Maine, a citizen led anti-gerrymandering victory in Michigan and a look at how a publicly financed campaigns could reduce special interest influence.
I hope you not only watch one or all, but if you are an advocate for political reform and want to educate others, this content is free to use. So, organize a Zoom event and show one or more videos and start a discussion. Ideally it is more than a discussion and it evolves into citizens taking actions that attempt to prepare our Republic for the digital age.”
I hope you find them to be informative and encouraging!