[Libs-Or] Civics for Adults Workshops in January!

[Donna Cohen]

Come join us on Jan 23rd at St Johns Library for "We Can Fight City Hall -
We Can Make Change Happen", and, Jan 28 at Oregon City Public Library for
Misinformation and Political Propaganda!

Civics for Adults Community Workshops: 

Enhancing Civic Knowledge / Inspiring Political Engagement

 

The goal of all workshops is to provide information typically hidden behind
the headline-grabbing, background noise of our lives. Our democracy is
strengthened when citizens have accurate knowledge.

"Donna brought a balanced, informed set of discussion points and
fact-checking sources on voting, taxes, citizenship, and other topics that
sometime turn politics from polite conversation to heated argument.  Sarah
Jesudason, Tualatin PL [while at Tigard PL] 

New! Being a "Citizen Lobbyist" - Advocating for your Community, State and
Nation aka 

We Can "Fight City Hall" - We Can Make Change Happen

Do you have an interest in improving life for yourself and your neighbors or
a concern about local, state or federal actions and laws? Efforts by
citizens to improve the common good are just another form of "lobbying".
Learn to investigate the issues and about tools for change. Topics:

*Information and misinformation. *Examples of successful advocacy. *Choosing
your battles. What matters to you? *Who makes the rules? *Getting heard by
elected officials. "*Tracking" what is happening

State legislature is in session as of Feb. Learn what is going on and how to
make your mark.

Misinformation and Political Propaganda

We are overwhelmed with messages from politicians, news sources and other
media. Learn to distinguish truth from fiction using critical thinking
strategies. The workshop uses real world examples of political ads, news
headlines, logical fallacies, graphs / charts, the effect of word choice in
messaging, statistical data and other types of information in a "what do you
see here? / what is missing?" type of format. 

The last part is about finding accurate information. The goal is to help
people become their own "factchecker". 

"It's good to question assertions of any kind, especially timely in this
election year. I liked Donna's 

examples of real ads and how we need to be mentally vigilant." 

 The Influence of the Constitution on Political Conversation

By looking back at the creation of the Constitution we puncture some myths
and develop a broader perspective on its significance - perspective that
helps us evaluate current political events more thoughtfully. At times a
person's [especially a politician's] explanation about the Constitution may
be manipulative rather than truly informative.

"Amazing what was done [the creation of the Constitution] and what issues
still remain."

"Good level of history and contemporary political ideas, their evolution and
relevance to today."

 Beyond Voting: Elections and Campaign Financing

This is a unique workshop covering 20 topics related to our electoral
systems and presenting specific ideas for bi-partisan civic/political
engagement. Topics:

Voting as Constitutional right(?), Voter Rights, Voter Fraud, Voter
Registration, Voter Turnout, Felon voting, Instant Runoff Elections,
Redistricting,  Electoral College, National Popular Vote, Campaign
Financing, SuperPACS and 501(c)4s, Contribution Limits, Dark Money,
Disclosure, Elected Officials Time Spent Fundraising, Public attitudes about
Money in Politics, Oregon's Campaign Finance Database, Public Financing of
Elections

            "Thanks for all the great information. It was empowering." 

""This talk was very informational and gave me some ideas of how to make a
difference starting locally." 

"Thanks so much for this interesting and engaging workshop on civics." 

 

The most important political office is that of the private citizen."
Justice Louis Brandeis

Donna

Donna L Cohen, MEd, MLIS

Portland, Oregon

503-737-1425

citizen at civicthinker.net

Civics for Adults Workshop Series: To Enhance Civic Knowledge and Inspire
Political Engagement

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Civics-for-Adults-1490728887922036/

 

 

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