Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport

With a new introduction addressing the era of Trump and the 2020 election, here is a comprehensive guide to civic participation and the best opportunities for volunteering.

We are proud residents of the land of the free and the home of the brave, but how often do we actually get involved and do anything to make a difference? The lifeblood of democracy is civic engagement, and Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport teaches readers how to get in the game and help!

Volunteers are needed in record numbers. Millions of Americans—middle class, working class, professionals, and business executives—have experienced the loss of a job, a home, or a business, a small farm failure, a personal bankruptcy, or a loss of pension or retirement income. And millions more are only a layoff, illness, divorce, or accident away from falling into poverty. Blaustein focuses on two critical questions: “How did we get into this mess?” and “What can be done to turn things around?” His answer to these interconnected questions is volunteering, community service, civic engagement, and citizen participation.

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport is a comprehensive collection of more than two hundred community service opportunities and experiences. More than a simple resource guide, this unique handbook includes interviews, anecdotes, and commentary from the top people in nonprofit and service fields.

Arthur Blaustein is a recently retired professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught community development, public policy, and politics. He has served on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Bill Clinton and was chair of the President’s National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity under President Jimmy Carter. Blaustein has written extensively for magazines and newspaper syndicates, including Harper's, Saturday Review, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Los Angeles Times and Knight-Ridder, as well as for academic and professional journals. He lives in Berkeley, California.