Thomas Linzey: “Filling the Democracy Gap”-2/24/2021

In August 2019, CDER’s Thomas Linzey published Filling the Democracy Gap, featuring artwork from Suzette Marie Martin in Orion. This article explores the journey of Grant Township in Central Pennsylvania, securing a higher degree of democratic power. Grant Township pushed back against PGE and their fracking operations from leaking toxic waste into their community.

This article focuses on this Pennsylvania communities’ line of offense, and how they not only made enough noise that required response, but also how they persistently refused to back down in the face of power. Another thread of topic within Linzey’s article is also the institutional obstacles in place that prevent local communities from fully utilizing their rights enumerated within the Constitutions’ Bill of Rights: Dillion’s Rule and preemption. Further discussion of both of these topics is found on our Democracy in the United States Video Series.

The inherent and natural democratic rights for US citizens is also inclusive of our right to be able to protect ourselves from exploitation, but also to protect the surrounding environment so that we can exist in a world where health and the right to natural beauty, and the right to a quality of life are respected. We can see this reinforced in Thomas Linzey’s article in this quote from Mari Margil: “No longer can we afford to think in terms of just protecting the human community. We need to understand that everything that affects the natural environment affects us all” (Linzey, 2019).