By Those Who Show Up

Democracy. It's messy, it's uncomfortable - but it's better than the alternatives, as Winston Churchill famously assured us. And it is certainly better than Authoritarianism.

The idea of a self-governing society, where all are considered equal, is humankind's dream. It's one of the things that makes The West Wing so attractive to its tens of millions of fans. The Bartlet Administration's vision for America is practically utopian - based on the conviction that the best government is one in which no one - no one! - gets left behind.

And especially now, as the opening decades of the 21st century have experienced an uncomfortable rise in Authoritarianism - not just in the United States, but in Europe and South America as well. It doesn't look promising.

This book suggests that we can look to The West Wing, not only for inspiration, but for conviction and a call to action.