THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL AMERICA FACE US ALL
HOW IDAHO IS CHANGING ORGANIZING
BUILDING AN ARC OF RELATIONAL ORGANIZING
HOW IDAHO IS CHANGING ORGANIZING
Throughout the pandemic, United Vision for Idaho has built a model for relational organizing by building an arc of relational organizing. Together, we have built a community and arc of people across this country who are committed stepping into the breach to ask of each other and of ourselves the hard questions, face the reality of our shared history and face our fears and frustrations and find a way to build a new together. building leveraging virtual and distributed programs to replicate our approach and not sacrificing it to technology. Beginning with statewide community wellness checks, moving to follow-up phone calls, virtual gatherings, and other relational organizing strategies to deepen engagement and build leadership capacity; we have set the foundation for strong, long-term relational organizing digital programs.
Issues that are couched in extremist rhetoric and steeped in bigotry are highly effective at sowing division and fear in communities that are isolated. When we meet people at their source of pain and engage in meaningful conversations about the values that unite us and the issues that matter most the transformation that occurs is remarkable. It results in ideological shifts, civic participation, and voter participation on those issues.
This work has been the culmination of our work with key partners and our decades of experience on the ground talking with people about their pain and engaging them in a movement, not just a moment.
The core focus of our narrative strategy is “building a bigger we” to promote belonging in rural and small-town communities and build the framework for broader urban-suburban-rural alliances.
Everything is at stake in this moment. Our lives are inextricably linked and our issues and values unite us in a shared struggle. At a time when it is easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless, taking action is an affirmative step we can all make to empower ourselves and our communities to revision and remake a world and a democracy that works for everyone.
Our program is unique, transformative vs a transactional approach. To date, we have reached out to over 600K people across five states had 94K deep conversations, enlisted thousands of volunteers. We've learned a great deal about how we use language and meet people where they are.
By creating a model that broke with traditional digital outreach, we've created a program that is being highlighted across the country and applied more broadly to the progressive movement.
FEATURED BY COMMUNITY CATALYST
THE RURAL REPORT
BUILDING AN ARC OF RELATIONAL ORGANIZING
HOW IDAHO IS CHANGING ORGANIZING
Relief, Recovery, and Reimagination
A Federal Policy Agenda to Meet This Moment in Rural and Small-Town America
We see the potential that exists in our communities, and it’s time for candidates for every level of office to see it too. But a quick campaign stop or scenic rural photo-op is not enough to meet the moment rural communities and small towns face – and neither is promising a return to the pre-pandemic status quo. Rural communities need candidates who will work with us on a new approach, based on our vision for what our communities can be: anchored by thriving small towns with diversified economies, strong safety nets that meet people’s needs, a family farm food system, a plan to rapidly transition to a renewable energy future and a jobs guarantee that invests in us to rebuild our communities and take care of each other.
BUILDING AN ARC OF RELATIONAL ORGANIZING
BUILDING AN ARC OF RELATIONAL ORGANIZING
BUILDING AN ARC OF RELATIONAL ORGANIZING
“I'm amazed by what your organization is doing, especially in a state as red as Idaho. Combining your bold agenda with the reach, expertise and volunteer support of People's Action feels like a powerful tandem. While many campaigns seem to ask a lot of straight forward or yes/no questions, your campaign is asking how people feel, which I think is important. I was somewhat skeptical at first, but your campaign showed me how text-banking can create the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation if the responses are rooted in compassion.”
-Volunteer
Lessons from The Frontlines
From our People's Action Executive Director, George Goehl
BUILDING AN ARC OF RELATIONAL ORGANIZING
TOWN HALL: FIGHTING FOR RURAL AMERICA
From our People's Action Executive Director, George Goehl
From our People's Action Executive Director, George Goehl
United Vision for Idaho board member and amazing activist Adam Thompson asking Sen. Sanders "The Question!"
"I am a third-year college student in Boise, Idaho and I’m Jewish.
White Nationalist groups have more than doubled in my state over the past three and a half years. There is a threat of harm that I and diverse communities face all the time. But, it’s not like this was an accident. Most people dismiss rural communities and places like Idaho as red and racist and invest in other places.
While the progressive movement divested, the far-right has invested everything to exploit the pain of the working class and pit us against one another.
Question: How do we make sure the next administration listens to US? And…
What do you say to people in rural communities thinking about sitting this election out?"
From our People's Action Executive Director, George Goehl
From our People's Action Executive Director, George Goehl
From our People's Action Executive Director, George Goehl
To See Each Other is a documentary series that complicates the narrative about rural Americans in our most misunderstood, and often abandoned, communities. Host George Goehl - a leading grassroots organizer - travels to Michigan, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina and Indiana to reveal how small town folks are working together in fights for everything from clean water and racial justice to immigrant rights and climate change.When we see each other, we’ll understand that we can never give up on each other.Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and anywhere you listen
Can Millions of Deep Conversations With Total Strangers Beat Trump — and Heal America?
Can Millions of Deep Conversations With Total Strangers Beat Trump — and Heal America?
Can Millions of Deep Conversations With Total Strangers Beat Trump — and Heal America?
COVID-19 has upended the 2020 campaign. Activists are testing a cutting-edge strategy to change the hearts and minds of voters in our pandemic election
READ THE ROLLINGSTONE ARTICLE ON PEOPLE'S ACTION DEEP CANVASSING
Why Voter Outreach Shouldn’t Forget About Rural America
Can Millions of Deep Conversations With Total Strangers Beat Trump — and Heal America?
Can Millions of Deep Conversations With Total Strangers Beat Trump — and Heal America?
George Goehl is on a mission.
“I want people to see the humanity of folks in rural communities first and foremost,” Goehl tells Shondaland. “We would be succeeding if people thought: Okay, I’m going to drop the preconceptions for a minute, listen to these stories, and have a different perspective on what’s possible in rural communities.”
Don’t give up rural Idaho to white supremacy, anti-democratic forces
Can Millions of Deep Conversations With Total Strangers Beat Trump — and Heal America?
In the Struggle for Racial and Economic Justice, Don’t Forget Rural America
"We cannot continue to cede these areas to anti-democratic extremists. White supremacy threatens us morally, physically and politically. While the stakes vary from person to person (say a black man in Portland and a white woman in Boise), we all suffer if the alt-right and anti-democratic movements persist and grow. These movements are a cancer on our democracy, and they are a parasite that feeds on the chaos and division."
By Eric Ward and Adrienne Evans
In the Struggle for Racial and Economic Justice, Don’t Forget Rural America
From United Vision for Idaho and United Action Executive Director, Adrienne Evans
In the Struggle for Racial and Economic Justice, Don’t Forget Rural America
"These times are unusual, and not just because of COVID-19. What distinguishes this time from others is that we are truly seeing the culmination of an entire system that is at odds with the people it should have been designed to serve. What remains unknown is whether this will be the moment to usher in a 21st-century civil rights movement or a new civil war.
What will make the difference in these two starkly different visions of the future?"
From Western States Center Executive Director, Eric Ward
From United Vision for Idaho and United Action Executive Director, Adrienne Evans
From United Vision for Idaho and United Action Executive Director, Adrienne Evans
From United Vision for Idaho and United Action Executive Director, Adrienne Evans
From United Vision for Idaho and United Action Executive Director, Adrienne Evans
From United Vision for Idaho and United Action Executive Director, Adrienne Evans
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Additional Information
UVI has long recognized the urgent need for continuous investment in places across the country that have been ceded to anti-democratic extremist factions with little to no alterative infrastructure to support base-building at the depth and scale needed to thwart the tide of rising authoritarianism in the US.
To frame the context of the threat, we need a shared general understanding of what is meant by Authoritarianism. There has been a concentration of political power that favors central authority with limited political pluralism, and reduced individual freedoms. This authoritarian faction espouses radical views against perceived threats to national or ethnic identity, casting diversity and those deemed “other” as enemies and obstacles to personal upward mobility of the success of society, often inciting violence. Some key indicators are the rise in hate crimes, militia activities, anti-government groups, and the spread of propaganda and mis and disinformation, suppression political opposition by expanding political control to undermine personal and civil liberties by extending control over the private lives of citizens, delegitimizing and barring participation in free and fair elections, undermining trust in democratic institutions while simultaneously infiltrating them with aligned actors to seize local, state and federal positions of power, and appointing people with an aligned agenda to independent judiciary systems, obscuring transparent governance processes, arbitrarily applying the rule of law, and silencing objectors by dominating the public sphere through social media, admonishing if not eliminating free speech, press and assembly and ushering in legislation and influencing corporate partners to limit and preclude activities that challenge them.
Whereas, democracy represents an ideal architecture of a just society where
- Every individual has the opportunity to participate in shaping their life and community and has equal opportunity to influence the decision-making processes that affect their lives.
- Balance is achieved between the majority rule with minority rights, ensuring that diverse voices and perspectives are respected and protected.
- Upholds an unwavering commitment to human rights, social justice, and equality, providing a framework for a society that values and protects the dignity and freedom of every person.
- Adheres to a goal of transparent and accountable governance, where leaders serve the common good and are responsive to the needs and aspirations of their constituents.
In the United States, we are witnessing a series of events that, when considered in isolation, may seem concerning but manageable. However, it's the simultaneous occurrence of these issues that should serve as a wake-up call for every American, regardless of political identity. Democracy is facing challenges on multiple fronts, all at once.
· Institutional Erosion: The simultaneous weakening of checks and balances, judicial independence, and electoral integrity in our country is not a coincidence. These are core pillars of our democratic system, and their concurrent decline signals a deep-rooted problem.
· Freedom Restrictions: The restriction of fundamental freedoms such as speech, press, assembly, and association across various states and platforms is happening now, all at once. This collective curtailing is a red flag for the health of our democracy.
· Power Centralization: The alarming trend of power being consolidated in the hands of a few, whether in the executive branch or within certain parties, is happening nationwide. This isn't a singular event but a widespread shift in governance.
· Media Under Siege: Attacks on the free press are not isolated incidents. Across the nation, there's a pattern of intimidation and control over media, which is essential for an informed populace.
· Divisive Rhetoric Rising: The rise of populist and nationalist rhetoric isn't confined to one region or group. It's a national trend that's creating divisions and undermining our collective unity.
· Checks and Balances Dismantled: The weakening of the legislative and judicial branches' power to check the executive is occurring at various levels of government, eroding the balance essential for democracy.
· Politicization of State Agencies: The trend of turning neutral state institutions into partisan tools is a nationwide concern, threatening the impartiality of our public services.
· Cult of Personality: The promotion of certain leaders as infallible figures is not limited to one party or area. It's a national phenomenon that challenges the accountability essential in a democracy.
· Widespread Disinformation: The spread of false information is not a series of isolated events. It's a coordinated effort across various platforms and regions, impacting public opinion and decision-making.
· Targeting the Vulnerable: The strategy of scapegoating minority groups and political dissidents is a tactic being observed across the country, not just in isolated cases.
· Misuse of Resources: The abuse of state resources for political gain is a widespread issue, not confined to specific locales or administrations.
· Electoral Law Manipulations: Changes in electoral laws and term limits to benefit those in power are happening in multiple states, not just as isolated incidents.
These challenges are not happening in silos; they are occurring in tandem, creating a compounded effect that threatens the very essence of our democratic values. This convergence of issues should be a wake-up call for every American. It's a call to recognize the interconnectedness of these challenges and to understand that the health of our democracy depends on addressing them collectively. We must unite in our efforts to safeguard our democratic principles, ensuring they endure for future generations. This is not a moment for complacency but for active, informed, and united action.
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Considering your sphere of influence, where can you make a difference with the people you know, your community, and neighborhood?
Engaging in Governance:
How are you thinking about how you could become more informed and engaged in the political process in your country? How could you participate in local governance or community decision-making to foster democratic values?
Promoting Civic Education:
How are you thinking about how you could contribute to increasing civic awareness and education in your community? How could you encourage critical thinking and informed discussions about political and social issues among your peers?
Supporting Free Press and Information:
How are you thinking about how you could support a free and independent media?How could you help combat misinformation and promote fact-based discourse in your social networks?
Advocating for Human Rights and Liberties:
How are you thinking about how you could support and protect civil liberties and human rights in your society?
How could you advocate for specific causes or groups whose rights you feel passionate about?
Participating in Political Processes:
How are you thinking about how you could become more actively involved in the electoral process, beyond just voting?
How could you support or engage with political parties or candidates that align with your values?
Building Social Cohesion:
How are you thinking about how you could undertake initiatives to bridge divides and foster understanding among different groups in your community?
How could you promote inclusive dialogues and activities that bring diverse perspectives together?
Volunteering and Community Engagement:
How are you thinking about how you could volunteer your time or skills to strengthen your local community and its democratic foundations? Are you thinking about joining a community organization or group working to address democratic challenges?
Advocacy and Policy Influence:
How are you thinking about how you could effectively advocate for policy changes or reforms that you believe are important for preserving democratic values? How could you identify opportunities to influence policy at various levels?
Supporting Fair and Transparent Systems:
How are you thinking about how you could promote transparency and accountability in government and public institutions? How could you contribute to ensuring the fairness and integrity of electoral and political processes?
Personal and Community Responsibility:
How are you thinking about how you could personally uphold democratic values in your daily life and interactions? How could you foster a democratic culture within your family, workplace, or community?
Global Perspective and Solidarity:
How are you thinking about how you could show solidarity with individuals and groups in other countries who are fighting for democratic freedoms?How could you support or participate in global initiatives to promote democracy?
DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON ALL OF US!
Democracy isn’t just a word—it’s a practice that requires all of us. United Vision for Idaho (UVI) is leading the charge to protect and revitalize our democracy. We’re not just talking—we’re taking action together and giving a pathway for all those longing for civil discord and true democracy to provide the skills and practice to build the world we all want and need. Check out www.unitedvisionproject.org