About the project
A guestbook for the country’s 250th birthday.
What’s Your Take? is a table we set up where people already are: festivals, markets, park days. It asks one question. You sit down, write your answer on a card or on your own phone, and drop it in the box. There’s no stage, no debate, and nothing to sign up for, and it takes about two minutes.
We’re taking that question around the country, and everything people write stays sealed until the reveal. Then every answer is released at once, alongside a short film that tries to answer two questions: Who are we? What do we believe?
With no pressure to wear a label, the answers add up to a kind of civic mirror: the country, reflected back to itself. It's "know thyself" at scale.
Why in person?
Agency is felt, not explained. Showing up in a real place, next to real people, gives your whole body the experience. Every take is proof a real person was actually there. Bots need not apply.
Why anonymous?
Privacy is worth protecting. We never ask for your name, email or phone when you answer, and nothing ties a take to a person.
Why sealed?
So everyone responds to the question, instead of replying to someone else’s answer. Each take carries the same weight.
Who’s behind it
We (ARE) the People is a nonpartisan civic identity project from Dallas, Texas. We build ways for people to be heard and to hear each other.
wearethepeople.usWant the table at your event?
We travel with a canopy, a table, and a couple boxes. If your festival, market, or block party has shade for us, or you just want to point us toward a town, let us know.
ZIP lookups for the “bring the table to your town” form use postal data from GeoNames.org, licensed CC BY 4.0.