A More - or less - Perfect Union... what matters most to Americans as elections approach

They're back! As we close in on the 2024 election, we've once again brought together "We the People," voices from around the country - some familiar, some new - for a discussion that digs into the USA's fast-evolving political, cultural and social drama in a different way. Neither a focus group nor poll about political preferences; it’s more a national town hall. An in-depth, substantive exploration of some of the issues and events that may matter most to Americans right now as the election approaches. You may well find in their collective opinions clues about how America will vote as was the case in the 2016 and 2022 elections. What we know to be true remains for this election cycle: Every single vote truly matters. Americans need to vote; Americans better vote. SHOW NOTES: -More information, including the participants in this series can be found at citizenartscreative.org/unionpodcast -Check your voter status or register to vote: https://vote.gov/ -Other podcasts to check out from some of our participants: youtube.com/c/CindyBennett13 www.youtube.com/@TeacherKellyTag https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindful-muscle/id1733711161 -Music credits: “Frederic Chopin, Waltz in B minor” Music by Nesrality from Pixabay “Simple Piano” Music by Leigh Robinson from Pixabay “Uplifting Piano” Music by Music Unlimited from Pixabay -CITIZENARTS essential mission is to foster greater understanding of civic issues. We'd love to hear from you about this topic! Email jeff.lewis@citizenartscreative.org and follow us on Instagram @citizenartsedu, Facebook @citizenartsedu, Twitter/X @citizenartsedu, Threads @citizenartsedu -We are a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. Visit citizenartscreative.org/podcasts to access our growing selection of civics-related and historically significant programs. These include IN THEIR WORDS: What public officials do for us; Wartime Moments in Israel: A Diary of Encounters and Reflections; Hungary’s Cautionary Tale - How Autocrats Broke Democracy; MARCH, an audio drama based on an historically documented moment of Hitler’s rise to dictatorial power; and Liberty vs. Tyranny: Czech Views on Ukraine, Freedom and Democracy Shaped by Strife with Russia -CITIZENARTS podcasts are presented courtesy of gabbegroup Productions. Copyright © gabbegroup Productions

Here’s CITIZENARTS founder Jim Gabbe with a word on our newest podcast series, IN THEIR WORDS: What public officials do for us. In interviews with key local and federal “public servants,” we shed light on how their work may be often little understood but has an immediate, direct impact on our daily lives. EPISODE NOTES: More about IN THEIR WORDS: What public officials do for us, including links to download, can be found at https://www.citizenartscreative.org/intheirwords

Is America truly a paragon of democracy? Russia’s Putin and President Xi of China, among many others – including some in the U.S. - don’t think so. And should America’s foreign policy be shaped by competition between liberal democracy and autocratic rulers? These are two key questions explored in this third and final episode when our nationwide forum composed of a cross section of the over 200 Americans from the original documentary (Episode One) delves into issues at the forefront of debate in the U.S, and internationally about what can and should be America’s role in the world. The discussion then focuses on America’s role in the Ukraine War – should we be involved? The U.S. – Russia relationship post the Ukraine War – should it include Putin? And of great significance, the fast-evolving competition between the U.S. and China – are the world’s two superpowers destined to be locked in hostility, increasingly on the brink of calamity? Or can there be harmony and mutual cooperation? Last, our panelists tell us what their message would be if asked to speak on behalf of the United States to the world at the United Nations. Forum host and CITIZENARTS founder Jim Gabbe concludes our podcast with final thoughts about the road traveled by Americans since 2016. Most importantly, he observes there has been a profound alteration in thinking and attitude. The abundant optimism and determination of a few years ago has been diluted by questioning – even skepticism and cynicism - about America’s fundamental institutions. Sobering? For sure. But, he posits, such questioning can be a catalyst for renewal and meaningful change. As we round the bend to the mid-term elections, we hope A More - or less - Perfect Union... what matters most to Americans as elections approach provides added insight into what our votes could mean over the coming years – and the impetus to go out and vote. We better. It matters. A More - or less - Perfect Union…what matters most to Americans as elections approach is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please download, like and subscribe! EPISODE NOTES A More - or less - Perfect Union… what matters most to Americans as elections approach, is a production of CITIZENARTS www.citizenartscreative.org. This episode, America Can and Should Lead as a Force for Well-Being and Harmony, is a CITIZENARTS podcast presentation. All rights reserved. Much more about this podcast, including names of the participants, can be found at www.citizenartscreative.org/unionpodcast For more about CITIZENARTS’ other productions, MARCH, an audio drama podcast set in Berlin, 1921, and our podcast Liberty vs. Tyranny: Czech Views on Ukraine, Freedom and Democracy Shaped by Strife with Russia, please visit https://tinyurl.com/CApodcasts Music credits: Frederic Chopin, Waltz in Bm. Music by Nesrality from Pixabay We'd love your feedback. You can get in touch with us by emailing jeff.lewis@citizenartscreative.org, and please subscribe, rate and review!

A condensed audio version of the documentary that came out of our nationwide exploration just prior to the 2016 elections in which we sought answers to a most distressing question: were Americans as angrily and hopelessly divided as was being reported by the media? At its heart are the voices of over 200 citizens we interviewed - left and right, young and old, rural and urban; black, brown yellow, white; straight, LGBTQIA, blue collar, middle class -- and the upper echelons of politics and business. This film has been shown in educational forums at colleges, high schools and elsewhere throughout the U.S. and internationally and gives its title to this podcast: A More – or less – Perfect Union. Did those voices answer our question? They sure did – but NOT as the media would have it. With near unanimity and optimism, they spoke of an America that could take on and solve its challenges. A More - or less - Perfect Union… what matters most to Americans as elections approach is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please download, like and subscribe! Interested in seeing what you hear? View a condensed version of the documentary A More – or less – Perfect Union at www.citizenartscreative.org/unionpodcast EPISODE NOTES A More - or less - Perfect Union… what matters most to Americans as elections approach, is a production of CITIZENARTS www.citizenartscreative.org. This episode, Voices Not Heard in the Media Before the 2016 Election, is a presentation of a gabbegroup Productions documentary. All rights reserved. Much more about this podcast, including names of the participants, can be found at www.citizenartscreative.org/unionpodcast Here are two articles from the Huffington Post written in 2016 by CITIZENARTS founder Jim Gabbe when the original documentary film was created: “Get Off the Voter Fence with a Presidential Picker Strategy”: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/get-off-the-voter-fence-with-a-presidential-picker_b_5811599fe4b09b190529c067 “Ms. Clinton and Mr. Trump, We the People Have a Few Demands”: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ms-clinton-and-mr-trump-we-the-people-have-a-few_b_57a21a98e4b0c863d3fff701 For more about CITIZENARTS’ other productions, MARCH, an audio drama podcast set in Berlin, 1921, and our podcast Liberty vs. Tyranny: Czech Views on Ukraine, Freedom and Democracy Shaped by Strife with Russia, please visit https://tinyurl.com/CApodcasts Music credit: Frederic Chopin, Waltz in Bm. Music by Nesrality from Pixabay We'd love your feedback. You can get in touch with us by emailing jeff.lewis@citizenartscreative.org, and please subscribe, rate and review!

In this episode, a cross section of the 200 or so Americans who spoke out in Episode One appear in a nationwide, online forum, discussing and debating the past six years of escalating political, social and cultural turmoil in the US. They bring focus, passion and engagement to hot-button issues in ways reminiscent of the 1960s. Women’s rights, race, economic equity, educational fairness…as well as climate change and gun safety – and overall concerns about the nation’s political, judicial and even religious institutions. And, of course, the deep ramifications of COVID – including science skepticism. We conclude Episode Two by giving our forum participants magic powers. With the snap of their fingers they become politicians who can run for and win any elected office on Tuesday, November 8. They reveal what office they’d like to hold and their top priority as a public servant. Overall, their voices underscore how quickly a nation can change in our high-tempo, cloud-powered world. How Americans better have clear ideas about what voting can mean in the coming weeks and years. Or even, simply, that they’d better vote. The second half of our nationwide forum is presented in Episode Three of A More - or less - Perfect Union: What matters most to Americans as elections approach. Our focus shifts from the home front to America’s role in the world. A More - or less - Perfect Union… what matters most to Americans as elections approach is available wherever you get your podcasts. Please download, like and subscribe! EPISODE NOTES A More - or less - Perfect Union… what matters most to Americans as elections approach, is a production of CITIZENARTS www.citizenartscreative.org. This episode, A Call to Turn America’s Noble Ideals into Realities for All its Citizens, is a CITIZENARTS podcast presentation. All rights reserved. Much more about this podcast, including names of the participants, can be found at www.citizenartscreative.org/unionpodcast For more about CITIZENARTS’ other productions, MARCH, an audio drama podcast set in Berlin, 1921, and our podcast Liberty vs. Tyranny: Czech Views on Ukraine, Freedom and Democracy Shaped by Strife with Russia, please visit https://tinyurl.com/CApodcasts Music credit: Frederic Chopin, Waltz in Bm. Music by Nesrality from Pixabay We'd love your feedback. You can get in touch with us by emailing jeff.lewis@citizenartscreative.org, and please subscribe, rate and review!

CITIZENARTS’s Founder Jim Gabbe provides a brief overview of the series – from the cautious, but nearly unanimous and obvious optimism of a swath of Americans in the runup to the 2016 elections to the growing skepticism and cynicism of today. Restlessness that, in the great American tradition, has the potential to lead to major change. A More – or less – Perfect Union… what matters most to Americans as elections approach is available wherever you get your podcasts and at https://www.citizenartscreative.org/unionpodcast