Fall 2021 Democracy Commitment Events and Initiatives

Published
Please see below for the Fall 2021 Democracy Commitment events and initiatives. 
  1. Vaccine and Mask Mandates: Balancing Liberty and Public Safety during a Pandemic 
    9/9: 12:30-1:45 online event
    Freedom and protecting the public are both key principles of the U.S. political system. However, these principles can be a zero-sum game and difficult to balance. Please join Historians Merri Fefles-Dunkle, Josh Fulton, and Jim McIntrye and Political Science Professor Dr. Deron Schreck, as we examine historical precedents in which the government has restricted civil liberties in order to protect the public interest. We will also explore current tensions between efforts to protect the public with mask and vaccine mandates and concerns over infringements of personal freedom.  
  2. Getting sucked down the rabbit hole: Tribes, filter bubbles, identity fusion, and conspiracy theories Online featuring Dr. Laura Lauzen-Collins 
    9/16 1:00-2:15 online event Register here
    Why do so many well-meaning, intelligent people get sucked down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories? The answer lies in our mind’s own predispositions and shortcuts to forming our identity and sense of reality and the social media landscape that takes advantage of them. In this talk, we will focus on those predispositions and shortcuts that make us vulnerable to getting sucked down the rabbit hole.  This event is organized by the Library & the Democracy Commitment.
  3. Blame it on the media: The erosion of trust and truth, and what we can do about it (Part 2)
    9/22: 11:00-12:15 online event
    In the second part of this conversation, Communications and Journalism professor Lisa Couch and Information Literacy Librarian Tish Hayes focus on practical ways to improve our own “fake news” filters and recognize truth amidst overwhelming amounts of misinformation. They will also consider how we might work toward solutions to the erosion of trust and truth. This event is organized by the Library & the Democracy Commitment.
  4. Difficult Conversations Initiative: 
    Are you interested in participating in respectful discussions that grapple with difficult topics? This initiative is intended to model the norms, traits and values critical for our democratic culture, such as: mutual respect, listening, reasoning, and critical thinking. Inspired by Adam Grant’s Think Again: The Power of Knowing what you Don’t Know (2021), this initiative would hope to foster collaborative discussion that focuses on being in scientist mode in our discussions prioritizing humility, curiosity and learning from each other instead preaching, prosecuting, or politicking. This initiative would also promote dialogue among people from different backgrounds, demographics, and ideologies If you are interested in learning more or participating, please contact Kevin Navratil @ navratilk2@morainevalley.edu
  5.  Democracy Challenge: What does Democracy Mean to You? 
    Are you interested in helping revitalizing democracy? If so, please create a video of 90 seconds or less explaining what democracy means to you. You can talk about democratic principles or values that you think are most important, concerns or optimism you have about the future of democracy, or other aspects of democracy you would like to discuss. Save your video to somewhere that we can download it (Google Drive, One Drive, Drop Box, etc). Here’s directions on how to do this. Then, complete this form to let us know you are ready to participate and that we have permission to share your video. We will save your file, upload to the Library YouTube Channel, and add your video to our Democracy Challenge playlist. Please see the videos below as examples from your Moraine Valley colleagues.
    Be sure to nominate someone else to complete the challenge!

    Democracy Challenge Playlist