A few weeks ago I attended a series of events in St. Louis with Parker Palmer, the founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, and musical artist Carrie Newcomer.  The weekend was called Healing the Heart of Democracy: A Gathering of Spirits.  The title may have been audacious in its scope, but even after the first event (a lecture by Dr. Palmer on his new book, Healing the Heart of Democracy), I walked away feeling hopeful and happy–that there might be something we could actually do to shift the apparent polarization in American politics.

The second event was a music and spoken word evening with Dr. Palmer and musical artist Carrie Newcomer.  This time, the themes of open-heartedness, “humility and hutzpah” were punctuated by Newcomer’s poignant and powerful songs.

Finally, I was honored to spend the day with Palmer and Newcomer and about 50 other people, two thirds of whom were college students at Washington University in St. Louis.  We spent several hours together exploring the themes in Palmer’s book and applying them to our own lives, peering deeply into our hearts and discussing difficult questions in safe small groups.  It was a living demonstration of the model Palmer sets out in Healing the Heart of Democracy.  By the end of the day, many people spoke intentions into the circle: steps that they could take to take responsibility for being “we the people.”

I just saw an unattributed quote on Facebook, something like “I was going to ask God why injustice and poverty and hunger existed in the world and He did nothing about it, but I was afraid He might ask me the same thing.”  It’s easy to knock politicians and bemoan the status quo; harder to make a make a meaningful change in our own lives.  What am I doing about hunger, poverty, social justice, equality, freedom in my neighborhood, town, state and country?

The power of Parker Palmer’s unusual book is that it offers both historical context and immediate “to dos,” a whole plethora of options for becoming engaged again in democracy in a meaningful and transformational way.  If you are someone who wishes to participate in a living democracy, reading this book may be your next step. Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit by Parker J. Palmer