The Discussion Group on Current Affairs will take place at Phyllis’ home on June 13th at 3 pm. The topic is: Democracy in Crisis.
Those wishing to attend should contact Kathy Hall at uwcstudygroups@gmail.com.
She will then forward you the list of reading material.
Current Affairs Meeting Notes
On Thursday June 13 a group of 11 members met at the home of Phyllis Barrantes to discuss the very timely issue of Democracy in Crisis. Phyllis did an incredible job of studying the topics and preparing a varied collection of 20 articles on the subject from newspapers and periodicals such as, the Guardian, The Economist, The London School of Economics, Open Democracy among others.
We were asked to read the articles we found most interesting, but it was impossible not to read them all.
Titles such as: “A Warning from Europe: The Worst is Yet to Come,”, “Against the Ideal of a ‘Melting Pot’” (Anti-immigration sentiments-Cultural Diversity), “Is Democracy Dying?) UN Secretary-General: “American Power Is in Decline,
the World Is ‘in Pieces’, “America is Living James Madison’s Nightmare”, “Could Populism Actually be good for Democracy?” and many more, including some more optimistic topics.
You can imagine we had plenty to discuss – lots of ideas – some very optimistic and others – well, not so much. Unfortunately, we were not able to come up with any great solutions. In the end, we sought solace at the table. Tea and coffee and a lovely assortment of goodies, including three delicious cakes made by the hostess. Phyllis is a woman of many talents. Indeed, we all left happy and smiling.
Kathleen Hall