We’re shifting the focus from outrage to action, and building the blueprint for a democracy that truly works for the people it serves.
Photo credit: Ben Schumin, via Creative Commons/Wikimedia.
Understanding Fear-Based Politics
By Roger Rosenquist
Using fear of others to win political support is nothing new. For centuries, authoritarian movements have relied on this basic human instinct because history shows appeals to fear can help those seeking power.
American voters have been asked to support numerous dramatic and aggressive actions the Trump Administration has taken over the past 18 months, which are often justified as measures needed for our own protection.
We’re told, for instance, that our streets and cities are being taken over by foreign, criminal elements. So now we are spending billions on the capture, imprisonment, and deportation of people, including some without criminal records, and sometimes children. So, do we feel safer, or just manipulated? Secure, or aghast at the use of violence?
It’s not just our president fostering fear. There are figures in politics using the same approach of demonizing migrants and “others” for problems in America and elsewhere — now and in the past.
Fortunately, many scholars and citizens in America are recognizing and experiencing the active, current fearmongering going on now for political gains. We need to spread this awareness more broadly, however, for the good of us all.
It’s critical to our democracy that we turn away from fear and in its place support leaders and reasoned policies in support of “we the people”.
All Roads Lead to the South
By Alice Bond and LaMar Holliday
Sometimes it feels like Juneteenth all over again — not the unease of enslaved people whose freedom was declared but withheld in Texas, but something even darker. Today people are watching their voting rights being gutted by those who know exactly what they are doing.
We are living in a world of a thousand cuts, but this one cuts to the bone. On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais stripped away Section 2 of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act. It was the last functioning leg of the act that civil rights leaders and activists fought and died for to ensure Black Americans could vote.
This decision unleashed Republicans across the country into a surreal partisan race to see who is fastest at eviscerating voting districts in majority Black districts. It is a purposeful tactic. Real world effects were sharp and direct, with speed gerrymandering beginning in Tennessee, Louisiana and Florida as soon as the day the verdict was issued.
Keep reading to learn how voting rights activists are responding.
We Can’t Let Political Leaders Cast Aside Those Lacking Healthcare
By Kay Bjornen
Higher healthcare and insurance costs since the start of 2026 have been making life rougher for people across our country. While other living costs are accelerating too, legislators seem unmoved by what the combination of higher costs and inadequate public healthcare funding is doing to their constituents.
One of the latest twists: affordable insurance is harder to find for those in lower-income brackets thanks to cuts enacted in the 2025 HR 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Reduced subsidies for ACA (Obamacare) insurance have increased premium prices markedly to consumers, making the insurance unaffordable for many. Even if they can afford the higher premiums, many face high deductibles before their insurance starts covering care.
Cuts in federal subsidies to state Medicaid programs have been devastating (Medicaid is the state and federal program that pays for healthcare for low-income people, and you can read here about how age affects Medicaid eligibility. Historically, the states determine who is eligible for Medicaid and what services are covered, and the federal government reimburses some of the states’ costs.)
When the payments made by federal or state governments to hospitals for care that’s still being provided to poorer patients are reduced, the hospitals justifiably fear they might run deficits. Or, they have to consider cutting some of the medical services people seek from their facilities.
Arkansas is quickly becoming an example of how these factors can become overwhelming. We must expect elected representatives to work for us. Speak up and talk to your neighbors and friends and ask them to listen as well. Together we can make the system better.
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Project 2029 | Drive Change Together
Project 2029 is an all-volunteer, national grassroots movement committed to disrupting the broken system and redefining what democracy means from the ground up.
We are not affiliated with or supported by any political party or political action group (PAC). We are funded by donations from everyday individuals who support our vision and shared hope for America.
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