#9 Democracy from the front: Why we need cultural conscription - with Birgitte Hjort Sørensen
Imagine a reality where drama classes are not a luxury, but a democratic necessity. An everyday life where civic engagement and citizenship are practiced and trained - long before adulthood. The role of civil society as a bridge between systems and citizens becomes a political strategy, not a hobby.
A democracy trapped in its own rituals
In this first episode of the summer series from KOMPAS entitled Democracy from the front, Sigge Winther Nielsen and actress Birgitte Hjort Sørensen address what we are really doing with our democracy. Birgitte judges our current political culture too close to a tragedy, where rules and rituals trump imagination and empathy. But in resistance sprouts change:
"There are certain characters right now who are acting like monarchs. But in reality, I think it's an incredibly exciting time we're in. Everything that has been locked down for as long as I've been alive has suddenly been unlocked and is being rebuilt. We have so many possibilities."
So what if we rethought everything from scratch? What if art and culture became a structural element of democracy, and not just intermission entertainment?
When art becomes the safeguard of democracy
Birgitte Hjort Sørensen draws on experiences from both the stage and civil society, and draws a vision for a system where we train democratic muscles through culture and creativity - and thus strengthen our sense of responsibility:
"In art, we can be reflected, met and accommodated as we are - right now, no matter how we feel. It's a comfort. But also an opportunity to envision change, practice empathy and see the world through the eyes of others." She says.
A duty of civic duty?
Along the way, researcher Silas Harreby offers a radical idea: a form of civic duty. A duty to be part of communities, just as we commit to paying taxes or obeying the law.
Could we commit to each other to form communities and actively take responsibility? A civil society that does not stand in the shadow of the state, but becomes a real player in a rebuilt democracy?
The democratic potential of civil society
The KOMPAS summer series is about re-imagining democracy. And this episode zooms in on how we as citizens can mobilize hope, compassion and practical action - in a time where algorithms and polarization are tearing us apart.
It asks some big, hard questions:
Why is it so hard to share responsibility today?
Can we learn to live democracy instead of just talking about it?
And what would happen if we dismantled our entire democratic scenography and rebuilt it?
Listen in and learn why civil society can be the key to reinventing democracy. Not as a pillar of support, but as the foundation that holds it all together.