Praise for How To Save Democracy
​
​Unsparing in cataloging the challenges and threats confronting democracy today, this book is a source of hope and inspiration for all who care about preserving and strengthening our democracy.
—NANCY-ANN DEPARLE
Assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for policy for President Barack Obama (2011-2013)
​
Americans and others around the world must join forces to protect democracy, and reading How to Save Democracy is a good place to start to fight back.
—JAMES RISEN
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Last Honest Man: The CIA, the FBI, the Mafia and the Kennedys—and one Senator's Fight to Save Democracy
Merritt has performed an invaluable service: to hold the powerful to their word, while holding the rest of us—the people—responsible for protecting the best system of government yet devised.
—JESSE WEGMAN
Member of the New York Times editorial board and author of Let the People Pick the President
How to Save Democracy is two-books-in-one: a collection of poetic quotations and simultaneously a how-to-save-democracy guide. Highly recommended for parents, teachers, activists, journalists, and nonprofits.
—MARTHA INGRAM
Former chairman of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust
How to Save Democracy captures the greatness and spirit of leaders from around the world who understand that the power of democracy is more than an idea—it is part of our very humanity.
—DESMOND MEADE
Executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and author of Let My People Vote: My Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens
Democracy is indeed a project of humanity, and achieving it is hard work and needs structure and inspiration. Eli Merritt provides both in great surplus.
—NICK ZEPPOS
Chancellor emeritus and distinguished professor of law and political science at Vanderbilt University
Read How to Save Democracy and learn how to protect yourself, your family, and your democracy.
—CONGRESSMAN JIM COOPER
U.S. House of Representatives (1983-95, 2003-23)
As Jimmy Carter once said, “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” These are the same ideals that suffuse How to Save Democracy and the ones we must return to in order to restore our magnificent democracy.
—JIM FREE
Special assistant for congressional affairs to President Jimmy Carter (1977-81)
​
Women’s rights and the protection of our democracies around the world are inextricably linked. Those seeking to debilitate democracies often start by depriving women of their basic rights. What is needed to sustain this incredibly important effort to stem the anti-democratic tide? The compilation of quotations in How to Save Democracy gives us answers, sustenance, and inspiration to help power through one of the darkest periods in our history. We must all have the discipline of hope and find inspiration in one another and in the democratic leaders of our time.
—ANDREA DEW STEELE
Founder of Emerge America
The struggle we witness today over the future of democracy––and the need to defend it––can seem complicated and daunting, but How to Save Democracy makes clear a unified message that is both simple and compelling. This remarkable compilation of thoughts from 95 world leaders demonstrates that democracy’s defenders are widespread around the globe. These valuable pages should also inspire all Americans to positive civic action in our communities today.
—KEEL HUNT
USA Today network columnist and author of Crossing the Aisle
Celebrated champion of democracy Lani Guinier once wrote, "Democracy isn't something we inherit. It is not something we inhabit. It is not something we consume. It's something we actively build together." This excellent collection of quotations will inspire our essential work to build strong and resilient 21st century democracies where all people have a seat at the table.
—CYNTHIA RICHIE TERELL
Founder and director of RepresentWomen
American political commentary tends toward the parochial, but in How to Save Democracy Merritt offers us a remarkable breadth of global perspectives that reminds us not only of the value of democracy but that complacency is the surest path to its loss.
—FREDERIC C. RICH
Author of Christian Nation and Getting to Green
Demagogues and authoritarians are on the rise, and the number of democracies has declined each year for over a decade. Defenders of liberal democracy of every political persuasion must bury their differences and unite around the core strategies set out in How to Save Democracy.
—RICHARD A. WILSON
Board of trustees professor, University of Connecticut School of Law
This book contains powerful wisdom to guide citizens and business leaders, immigrants who struggle to find a new home, and veterans who have bled for freedom on the necessity of fighting for our democracy every day. As Guy Parmelin, President of Switzerland, said in the "Core Values" chapter, "Democracy is never achieved. It is a work in constant progress."
—ERIK WOHLGEMUTH
CEO of Future 500
Democracy is hard work, as President Joe Biden noted, but these inspiring quotations from 95 world leaders chosen by Eli Merritt encourage us all to do the hard work of safeguarding and sustaining this magnificent and free form of government.
—GRAY SASSER
Executive director of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy
The U.S. Constitution's preamble begins with ‘We the People’ and Americans are called to protect, nurture and sustain our republic. But democracy in America is imperiled by apathy, opportunism and the dehumanization of our fellow citizens. As this timely book reminds us page after page, defending democracy is not someone else's job. It is the every-day duty of every citizen who values liberty, fairness and good will toward their neighbors. This is what will lead us to a more perfect union.
—DAVID PLAZAS
Opinion and engagement director, USA Today Network Tennessee, and champion, Civility Tennessee Campaign
Eli Merritt’s How to Save Democracy is a wonderful compendium of practical wisdom from a wide variety of leaders on the ideas and values we need to nurture and cherish in order to protect the world’s democracies as we face the challenges to come.
—ANDREW TREES
Author of The Founding Fathers and the Politics of Character
Sometimes it takes a crisis for us to realize what we value––and why. At the end of the Cold War, democracy came to be taken for granted, seen as inevitable. Yet, recent events reveal its fragility. This educational and inspirational volume collects compelling insights on the ideals and promise of democracy, and it also provides a practical guide for what we can do to protect it. Open How to Save Democracy to any page, and you will find captivating and concise practical wisdom, reminding us of the values that unite us in the face of increasing polarization.
—TED FISCHER
Cornelius Vanderbilt professor of anthropology and author of The Good Life
How to Save Democracy is a powerful, sobering, and inspiring guide for safeguarding the free world we wish to live in. This book is an elegant distillation of the basic principles, problems, opportunities, dreams, and tools that can help fortify democracy. It shows us how to thrive and prosper with our rights and freedoms intact, and it outlines concrete strategies to accomplish just that.
—VANESSA BURNETT
Founder of Shift the Country