Relational civics is about trust, connection, and committing to a shared future. It means focusing on collaboration over competition, on people over power. This is how we build a democracy that truly serves everyone—not just the privileged few.

The real issue wasn’t broken systems; they were designed to exclude us. Civics in America runs on a transactional framework that concentrates power among elites while exploiting the vulnerable. All my work has been circling the core truth: civics is relational, not transactional.

That’s when I came across evolutionary learning—an approach using local feedback and cycles of refinement to rethink broken systems. It offered a way to address barriers by making systems adaptable, evolving with local needs and realities. A nice idea, but it led me to a deeper realization.

I spent years getting involved, learning how these systems worked so I could be that foot in the door for others—helping people find ways to get engaged and make a difference. But the more I worked, the clearer it became: individual effort can only do so much. The systems themselves need to change.

But when I tried, I ran into so many barriers. The systems felt like black boxes—layers of bureaucracy, gatekeeping, and unspoken rules. Outsiders like me couldn’t even figure out where to start. It felt like these systems weren’t designed for us—they were built to keep us out.

I wanted to change how we think about civics. It shouldn’t just be about voting every four years in a system that feels distant and pointless. I wanted it to be about supporting each other, advocating for what matters, and building a shared future—something ingrained in our daily lives.

At first, I thought the answer was to expand civics: more local engagement, advocacy, media literacy, and dialogue across divides. But even these ideas still operate within the same broken, transactional system. The core issue runs deeper.

Establishment Democrats keep saying they’ll reassess, but they’ve been out of touch with the working poor for years. People barely scraping by don’t believe the economy is ‘doing well.’ They feel left behind because they are left behind. Representation starts with listening.

Stop blaming oppressed minorities for responding to oppression. Disillusionment isn’t betrayal—it’s a natural response. Instead of scapegoating, focus on fixing systemic failures and earning the trust of communities the Democratic Party has alienated.