Where Democracy Lives

As I write this, I’m in Philadelphia after spending the morning walking through Independence Hall and hiking the trails at Valley Forge. I’m here celebrating two birthdays: my own and America’s 250^th. But mostly, I’ve been thinking about a question I heard a few weeks ago at the ACLU of Texas Advocacy Summit in El Paso.

Where does democracy live?

Standing in the room where the Declaration of Independence was debated, it’s easy to admire the courage of the founders.

The Declaration of Independence launched an idea, and every generation has since expanded its promise. Abolitionists like Harriet Jacobs challenged slavery. Mary Church Terrell insisted that women — including Black women — be included in American democracy. Labor and civil rights leaders, including Dolores Huerta, Dr. Hector Garcia, and John Lewis, challenged injustice, and citizens pushed the country closer to its ideals. Countless ordinary Americans refused to believe our democracy was finished.

As I walked the trails where Washington’s army endured one of the hardest chapters of the Revolutionary War, I found myself thinking less about the history itself and more about the question I heard at the summit.

Where do we find democracy?

I thought back to the conversations I’d had with advocates, students, organizers, and community leaders and how I left the summit with a simple answer: democracy lives within people.

Those conversations were timely. Across Texas and the nation, many of the values I care deeply about are under attack. We see efforts to demonize immigrants and border communities, restrict access to the ballot box, censor books, and chip away at constitutional protections that generations fought to secure.

Yet despite all of that, I see democracy every day.

It’s not about what’s happening in government, in campaign slogans or even on monuments; it’s about what is practiced by people who refuse to sit on the sidelines and accept that someone else will solve the problem for them.

Democracy is Ivonne, the advocate challenging policies that separate families and dehumanize migrants.

Democracy is Pam, the volunteer organizing community rallies because she believes ordinary people deserve a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

Democracy is Chris, helping men confront isolation, trauma, and stigma so they can build healthier families and stronger communities.

And democracy is my 90-year-old father, who still believes in the power of showing up and casting a ballot.

These people rarely make the evening news. They are not political celebrities. They are simply citizens doing the work that democracy requires.

And they remind us that democracy is not something we inherit and place on a shelf. It is something we should actively practice. It is something we defend. It is something we strengthen every time we choose participation over cynicism and community over division.

We often talk about teaching democracy in classrooms, and that does matter. But democracy is not learned just from textbooks; It is learned through examples. Every time we encourage others, create space for a new voice, or help a neighbor feel seen and valued, we are teaching democracy in action.

As a proud board member of the ACLU of Texas, I believe protecting democracy means protecting the freedoms that allow people to participate fully in civic life: the freedom to organize, vote, worship, learn, and make their voices heard.

Those rights matter because they shape the lives of real people every day.

As I celebrate Independence Day in Philadelphia, I am reminded that democracy has always required more than inspiring words and historic monuments. It has always depended on ordinary people willing to participate.

The founders gave us a beginning. Every generation has been asked to carry the work forward. Now it’s our turn.

The task before us is simple but essential: keep showing up, keep participating, keep building a nation where freedom, opportunity, and dignity are available to all.