Loading....

Congress Must Speak Out For Democracy

Our democracy is in crisis, and we need to see our Members of Congress take a stand to protect it.

Our democracy is under attack by radical actors from multiple parts of our society who want to turn our country into an authoritarian state, similar to what Victor Orbán has done in Hungary and Vladimir Putin has done in Russia.

Pro-democracy groups from all over the country are actively engaged in the struggle to save our democracy. The UUSJ Democracy Action Team has been bringing together democracy teams from UU congregations around the country to join in this struggle. We are collaborating with the UU the Vote team and many other partners to assist congregations in their get-out-the-vote efforts and help them contribute to building a powerful pro-democracy movement strong enough to counter the powerful forces attacking our democracy.

Most Members of Congress have yet to be visible in these critical efforts to build a pro-democracy movement. Too few have been forward-leaning in the legislative fights, if not the movement building. Too few have made overt statements in strong support of democracy and cautioning about the dangers of autocracy.

We need our congressional members’ collective and visible support right now if we are going to win this battle against authoritarianism.
We need them to speak out for our American democracy and be strong and visible advocates.
We need them to champion our cherished American values: freedom, opportunity, compassion, equity, fairness, and the right to vote and have our vote counted.
We need them to tell the truth about what is taking place, and we want them to tell us what they are doing to prevent the collapse of American democracy.

This action alert is intended to gain their attention and urge visible support. We want hundreds, if not thousands, of people to let their senators and representatives know that we expect them to take a strong stand defending our democracy.

Please complete the action alert form, make any needed edits you want to the text, and submit it. We would appreciate it if you would share this link bit.ly/speak_out_for_democracy with others. You do not need to be a Unitarian Universalist to send this action alert

Reference Materials

Download Poster

We just need few pieces of information to connect you with your representatives.

I'd like to receive updates from this organization

Take Action

UU Grounding

As of General Assembly 2024, as Unitarian Universalists, we have agreed to “adopt new language on core religious values.” We agree love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. The values we share include all the following, which we hold as inseparable and deeply interconnected: Interdependence, Pluralism, Justice, Transformation, Generosity, and Equity. (Read more on the Article II revision process.)

With these agreed core religious values in mind, we also ground our call for action in support of a healthy democracy in the following Unitarian Universalist Statements of Conscience (SOC), Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW) and Responsive Resolutions (RR):

Stop Voter Suppression and Partner for Voting Rights and a Multiracial Democracy, 2021 AIW
Undoing Systemic White Supremacy: A Call to Prophetic Action, 2021 SOC
Our Democracy Uncorrupted, 2019 SOC
Oppose Citizens United—Support Free Speech for People, 2011 AIW
Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society, 2007 SOC
Voting Rights for Communities of Color, 2007 RR

These insurgents are undermining the fabric of our democracy. Too few have made overt statements in strong support of democracy and cautioning about the dangers of autocracy.

We need our members of congress to champion our cherished American values: freedom, opportunity, compassion, equity, fairness, and the right to vote and have our vote counted.

We need them to be visible now in the fight to preserve our American liberties.

Both Chambers

Subject: Please Speak Out for Democracy

Message:

Our precious democracy, which countless Americans have fought and died for over our 248-year history, is facing the most significant challenge we have seen in our lifetimes. Radical actors from multiple parts of our society are threatening to turn our country away from its democratic and representative founding. These insurgents are undermining the fabric of our democracy. They are already spreading vast amounts of disinformation, maligning immigrants and other minorities, banning and disposing of books, making it harder to vote, and preventing Congress from doing its job – finding common ground that advances our democracy. They want to reshape our basic values as a country, weaken our community and individual protections, quash dissenting opinions, and take away our precious rights and liberties. As your constituent, I call on you to actively work to prevent this from happening. As our Constitution states, I expect you to provide for our “general welfare” to represent our best interests. Like you, I care about our rights and freedoms, our environment, my family and our future. I am confident that most of your constituents, like me, are not willing to let go of our fundamental freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution. We want a democracy that works for all of us, not just the few who are powerful. I ask you to speak out for our American democracy, to be a strong and visible advocate. I ask you to speak out for our cherished American values: freedom, opportunity, compassion, equity, fairness, and the right to vote and have your vote counted. I want you to tell the truth about what is taking place, what you are hearing and seeing, and tell us what you are doing to prevent the collapse of American democracy. I expect you to do everything you can to protect our freedoms, and to protect our country from these insurgents. We need you to be visible now in the fight to preserve our American liberties.

Characters remaining:

Congress Must Speak Out For Democracy

Thank you for taking Action!

Become a Member!