Daring to dream

Throughout human history, great and free nations have been built on noble dreams. Recently, in some once promising nations, dreams of betterment and possibility, have been effectively compromised. The current political landscape, featuring cold partisan interest, calculated distraction, divisive fear mongering, negativity, and voter disillusionment, has enabled a perfect storm of toxic dysfunction. To make matters worse, personal integrity and accountability have become almost non-existent in political leaders. In such an environment, dreams of social, economic and ecological justice can easily be thwarted. Progress can become much more selective, favouring power and privilege. This handbook integrates critical thinking and media literacy to refocus democratic dreams on more constructive collective pursuits, to re-energize dreamers, and to help hold elected leaders more accountable for their actions and omissions. It is important to speak truth to power, and justice to privilege, in order to empower dreamers and ennoble dreams. The author has over forty years of experience as an educator, curriculum leader, school administrator, and community leader.