When I was young during the Vietnam war I readily joined in on the large Boston Common demonstrations. Now I'd rather chat up a neighbor who disagrees with me, at least initially.
I once worked for a miserable left leaning telemarketing company in Cambridge that had a client roster of things like the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association. While many of the people I pestered were excited about volunteering their time in lieu of a check, these organizations were flatly useless at harnessing this genuine human urge to do something more personal than writing a check.
These seem to describe the two main things the old progressives actually do, march in increasingly ineffectual demonstrations that make caricatures of participants and write checks.
Yes there are many other personal things done by many and this seems to be on the rise. The Obama campaign has given an unprecedented chance to do something beyond waving a placard or writing a check and the value of these in kind kindness contributions more than equals the cash flow as an offset and may be adding other inputs like detailed knowledge of the on the ground conditions that can't be bought at any price.
I am excited to see the presence of Al Giordano online in an ultra pragmatic and fun site called The Field. I was a whistle blower years ago, 1995, I think. I was working at another polling outfit that was testing the water for a horrific John Silber, Reagan's "favorite Democrat". Silber's tenure at Boston University was marked by steady vindictiveness and arrogance and since my relatives helped to found the place, it was personal. The test poll outcome was hilarious and not good for Mr. Silber. Citizens of the Commonwealth generally indicated that Silber might have a shot if Heinrich Himmler was the opponent. Otherwise, forget it. The poll was badly constructed and revealed over its course that Silber commissioned it, dumb move.
After my shift ended I went back to Hoffman's house, where I was living and mentioned it to Andrew, son of Abbie, and he immediately called Al up and had me spill the beans. The timing fit the deadline of the Boston Phoenix, where Al worked, and he got a cool little scoop out of it that infuriated Silber while ensuring that he would no longer be a candidate, fun stuff.
One of the reasons I like the Field is that Al left the Phoenix and wandered for a few years because he grew as dissatisfied with the fossilized caricature of the progressive as I was and he is thinking and writing well about what it could become. Now we both find ourselves confronted by a mess stressed world where a centered pragmatist, Senator Obama is actually making it happen.
So as this newborn takes shape, I find myself wondering what elements it might incorporate and here are a few that occur to me.
1. Breaking down the Walls of 'like mindedness'. To me, all you have to do for me to like, care about and help you is to be kind, honest and have some interest in a less toxic world, however you express it. You don't have to agree with me. This mawkish insecurity about agreement is one of the more sophomoric features of the American social landscape and it suggests a lack of self confidence, of worshiping at an altar of fear.
2. Sustainable living. Given the encroachment of Climate change, carbon footprint reduction should have a huge priority for all committed Neo Progressives. It an is immediate personal impact contribution and is far more useful than merely loving the living world, which should be a given.
3. Personal economics. One should seek to incorporate a clear understanding of economic forces and how they drive political outcomes. The corporate plutocracy is very vulnerable to loss from a growing refusal to buy their goods and services. You vote with your purchases as much as you vote in elections. Think through the allocations you make for stuff very carefully, not as a boycott so much as an ongoing approach to how your hard earned money is used for your benefit or your undermining.
These are a few items and it would be great for comment makers to add their idea of what this new transformation could be. I am not here to give short shrift to all the foundation values held by old progressives such as social justice, equal rights and a helpful role from governance to benefit the average person rather than a weighting toward malevolent plutocracy. We are in a time where the foundation needs new walls and a better roof.
Update: I noticed the auto formatting doesn't agree well with Google Document so here is the basic url for The field,http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/|
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