While the opening of the Declaration of In dependence gets the fanfare and the fireworks&mdash\;&ldquo\;When in the c ourse of human events&rdquo\; and all that&mdash\;the closing clause conta ins a quiet promise: &ldquo\;We mutually pledge to each other our Lives\, our Fortunes\, and our sacred Honor.&rdquo\; When we talk about the foundi ng\, we often think of it as a severing from a distant power and a proclam ation of individual rights. And yet\, buried in that big individualistic o rigin story\, there is a pledge of support\, solidarity\, and mutual aid. Today\, as we witness political violence\, hostility\, and polarization\, this facilitated conversation invites us to explore what it means for us t o be bound to one another and to ask ourselves: Is there any idea\, any va lue\, any dream for the future that we care about enough to tie ourselves to one another to protect or pursue it? What would it mean to &ldquo\;mutu ally pledge&rdquo\; ourselves to one another today? What would it look lik e? Feel like? Is it even possible?
\n\n\nAbout the Fac ilitator
\n
Wendy Willis is the founding director of Oregon's Kitc hen Table\, a statewide community engagement program housed at Portland St ate University. She is also a poet\, an essayist\, a stitcher\, and a self -proclaimed democracy geek. Wendy was raised in Springfield\, but now live s with her family in Portland.
\n\nQuestions? Contact \;< a href="mailto:emilyc@deschuteslibrary.org \;">emilyc@deschuteslibrary .org \;
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