President Chris Hempfling welcomed all to the meeting and turned the meeting over to Neil Shorthouse AWER Secretary and AWER program chair of October who introduced our speaker, the Honorable Roger Bruce, former Georgia State Representative for House Legislative District 61 which is south of the City of Atlanta. Representative Bruce served for 22 years (11 consecutive election victories). The central focus of the meeting was Representative Bruce's address on the state of American democracy, the significance of the upcoming midterm elections, informed civic participation, and personal resilience in public service.
Representative Bruce emphasized major institutional bulwarks of the United States including
In light of the above he asked all present several important questions:
Roger Bruce opened his remarks by posing a foundational question to the group: "Is America still a democracy?" He acknowledged that this question would have been unusual in a Rotary setting just five or six years ago, but argued it is now entirely appropriate given recent events. He asked attendees to set aside their partisan identities and examine objectively what has occurred in American political life.
He emphasized that the upcoming midterm election is not fundamentally about Democrats or Republicans, or even about individual candidates. Rather, it is about whether citizens choose to preserve the system of government they have known throughout their lives or allow it to drift toward an unrecognizable form. He urged attendees to vote in a way that reflects their genuine long-term interests — for themselves, their children, and their grandchildren.
Bruce acknowledged the younger generation’s frustration but urges young people to look at what surrounds them and ask whether they want those conditions to persist. He stressed that change requires getting up and acting, not waiting for someone else to do it.
Bruce drew a pointed analogy between voting and hiring a skilled professional. Just as one would not hire a surgeon or a plumber without verifying their qualifications and experience, voters should not cast ballots based on personal familiarity, name recognition, or party loyalty alone. He argued that when voters elect unqualified candidates, they bear responsibility for the outcomes.
He also addressed a comment from AWER member CJ Stewart, who expressed frustration with the Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, feeling she is not representing the interests of working-class Black communities. Bruce acknowledged that no candidate perfectly represents every constituency, but pushed back on the notion that elected officials are powerless. He encouraged CJ to engage directly with the candidate, attend her public appearances, and make his concerns known rather than disengaging from the process entirely.
Bruce further argued that organized, strategic action — not passive expectation — is what produces results. He recounted how, as a freshman legislator, he and his fellow first-term colleagues leveraged their collective votes to demand interviews with candidates for Speaker of the House, ultimately securing committee officer positions that were unprecedented for freshmen. He also described the successful effort to change the Georgia state flag, which had featured Confederate imagery, despite significant opposition and personal threats, including from the Ku Klux Klan during the debate to change the state flag.
Bruce shared a deeply personal account. During a speech around 2004, he suffered a brain aneurysm mid-address. He finished the speech, then told his wife he needed to go to the hospital. He was transferred through three hospitals that night and remained in a medically induced coma for nearly four months.
Upon waking, he could not read — he recognized individual letters but could not assemble them into words. Despite still recovering, he was invited to deliver the commencement address at his son's high school graduation. His wife, friends, and advisors all urged him not to go. His son, however, reminded him of a principle Bruce had always taught: "Nobody could set my limitations but me." Bruce attended and delivered the speech.
He connected this personal story to his broader message: that the same principle applies to communities and young people. No one should allow others — whether political opponents, institutional gatekeepers, or well-meaning loved ones — to define the limits of what is possible. He urged members to pass this message on to the children and young people in their lives.
Further to young people: be truthful to what you believe, do not let others set your limitations, and take personal responsibility for creating the change you want to see.