Democracy Forum

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Hate and Fear in Politics: How fear and anger endanger democracy Key Discussion Points: We talk about hate and fear in politics and whether they undermine democracy: How panic and fear make space for abandoning the rule of law and the regular order; How when we demonize the opposition, it makes room for extraordinary measures to stop them. Guests: Joanne Freeman, Professor of history and American studies at Yale University history.yale.edu/people/joanne-freeman Steve Wessler, Maine human rights educator, trainer, and advocate specializing in conflict resolution www.stevewessler.com/ To learn more about this topic: “Trump and the Politics of Fear,” Molly Ball in The Atlantic, September, 2016. “America Descends into the Politics of Rage,” Joanne Freeman in The Atlantic, October, 2018. “The Upside of Anger,” Isaac Chotiner interviews Martha C. Nussbaum for Slate, August, 2018 The all-voluntee