This week we came across two very different but equally inspiring examples of democracy at work.

• Why it matters: At a time when the country feels increasingly loud and polarized, it helps to focus on instances of democracy thriving.

🏛️ The first was in a post on X from Axios business editor Dan Primack, who lives outside of Boston.

• "One of the best parts of living in a small Massachusetts town is getting to participate in town meetings, where citizens still vote (by raised hand) on issues large and small. Real direct democracy," he wrote.
• "Last night, nearly 600 people packed into a school auditorium to decide a major zoning change. People debated passionately but respectfully, and ultimately the rule passed by just 8 votes."

His town has 10,500 residents, and the turnout for the vote — which is the largest Dan says he’s seen in his 12 years living there — was driven by extensive outreach from people on both sides of the issue.

• But the process worked. There was discourse, and then there was a decision.

Zoom out: Things might seem broken at the national or state level, but this is an example of how decisions get made every day in many of America’s small towns and cities.

🎒 The second example isn’t a real vote, but shows the power of democracy all the same.

• At the ACCA Child Development Center, a day care in Annandale, Va., pre-schoolers were recently locked in a heated primary, AP’s Moriah Balingit reports.
• The topic: Which dog on "PAW Patrol" is the best? They debated and cast ballots as part of the pre-school’s civics education curriculum.

These kids are only 3 or 4 years old, and it’s too early for them to learn about the three branches of government or how a bill becomes a law, but it’s not too early to start teaching them about how democracy works.

• "We’re all here to help develop these children to become better citizens ... to be better problem-solvers and to be better equipped socially, emotionally. Because once they have a handle on that, I feel like things they accomplish and things they do will have a better impact on this world," Mary Folks, one of the teachers at ACCA, told AP.

📬 We want to hear from you! Are you involved in local politics in your town or city? Do you have examples to share of democracy doing its thing?

• Write to us at [email protected], with your name and hometown, to be featured in a future edition of the newsletter.

"Here's a photo I took while staying in a yurt on Peddocks Island in Boston Harbor," reader John Muggeridge tells us.

• "Our team had finished a full day of cleaning marine debris off of five islands, and this was a dinnertime reward!"