thursday, November 6, 2003
news
the university daily kansan
5A
Democracy Caravan comes to town
By Zack Hemenway
zhemenway@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Democracy Caravan organizer David Schwenk, of Schwenksville, Penn, helped Lawrence resident Mary Taylor register to vote yesterday afternoon at Checkers Foods, 2300 Louisiana St.. Democracy Caravan is a non-profit organization. Its members travel throughout the United States informing people about voting, American rights and democracy.
Megan True/Kansar
Ben Sher, co-founder of Democracy Caravan, was upset with the direction of democracy in America, but he didn't march in a parade or write a letter to his congressman.
Sher bought a giant RV trailer had it painted with a red, white, and blue design and made plans to travel the country promoting democracy.
Sher and other co-founder David Schwenk were in Lawrence this week with Democracy Caravan, the organization they formed to travel the country and promote their message. Sher said he had no problem committing his own money to the project.
"The best way to start something like this is just to get out there and do it," he said.
Sher christened the trailer the "Daniel Shays," naming the vehicle after the leader of a 1786 rebellion against the American government's policies.
"He was going up against the economic powers of his day, and that's what we're doing here," Sher said. "We want to challenge giant corporations and get them out of our democracy."
Democracy Caravan, which Schwenk called a non-profit, non-partisan organization, began its trip in October and will travel through 15 states, finishing in Washington, D.C. during the State of the Union address.
The group participates in a variety activities, including voter registration and meetings with political groups. They registered voters in the Checkers parking lot yesterday afternoon and attended a supporter's meeting
for Howard Dean last night.
Today, they will be on campus before heading to the Unitarian Fellowship for a potluck supper.
Schwenk said the group's main goal remained the same, whatever activity the group was involved in.
"We want to document the real state of the union." Schwenk said. "We're speaking with the American public and listening to what they have to say."
Lauren Sullivan helped arrange a stop for the group in Lawrence. Sullivan is director of Kumbaya Dammit, a Lawrence based group she said wanted to get Bush out of office, while not supporting any specific candidate as a group.
Sullivan and Schwenk are acquaintances, and when she
heard about Schwenk's group, she worked with him to plan a Lawrence visit. She said the two organizations had some common goals.
"It's about letting people know what the issues are," she said. "We both want to get more information out there so people can make more informed choices about voting."
Schwenk said this need for information was created by media misinformation.
"What we've been hearing is a lot different than what you see in national media," he said. "There's a lot of anger and frustration out there. People are really fed up with the political process."
Marguerite Howell, a member of Democracy Caravan, is recording this frustration as part of the group's effort. Howell is making a
documentary about the trip.
"We want to tell people what's going on in this country politically," she said. "I'm here to show people that this stuff is happening."
Schwenk said some of the footage would be shown during a "Real State of the Union" event in Washington, D.C.
Schwenk and Sher had a uniform response regarding their goal as an organization, to create a movement for pro-democracy. At yesterday's voter registration, Schwenk said democracy went beyond merely casting a ballot.
"Voting isn't the end of their civic responsibility," he said. "It's the beginning."
- Edited by Abby Sidesinger
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