In this Substack Live, David Pakman talks with former U.S. attorney and author Joyce Vance about her new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy. They dig into the twin challenges of outrage fatigue and normalization—how would-be authoritarians exploit constant “overwhelm” to make people disengage, and how to stay mentally healthy without going numb to abuses. Vance argues for sustained, community-based civic engagement, reminding listeners that democracy isn’t abstract—it’s the system that lets people live freely—and that participation should be measured, strategic, and rooted in real-world wins.
The conversation widens to turnout and coalition-building on the left: motivating non-voters (especially young people) requires concrete examples of government delivering, not just lofty ideals. Pakman and Vance make the case for incrementalism over accelerationism, noting that durable change has historically come through elections, courts, and steady pressure. They also touch on structural barriers to protest, outside disinformation designed to fracture the center-left, and policy areas—like elements of Scandinavian social democracy and prison reform—where broad agreement can form after the immediate democratic crisis is navigated.
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