There are basically two stances you can take when doing internet activism: You can present well reasoned articulate non-confrontational arguments for your position and hope they get read by someone who matters, and also hope that your well reasoned articulate non-confrontational argument suddenly turns the light bulb on over their head and changes there thinking or their position.
Or
You can YELL!!!
The purpose of yelling is not to make the wheels turn in some Congressmember or aides head….it is to scare the holy crap out of them and make them do something or lose votes and money. It is to keep them honest and to keep them from drifting off course.
We who yell tend to want radical change, but we have to acknowledge that JUST yelling won’t bring that change. We have to yell effectively.
In order to be effective there are lines that you don’t want to cross. It is necessary on one side to make your positions…what you ask for, ‘radical’ enough to spur real fundamental change. Especially since politics is about compromise. And compromise means negotiation. And if you Yell for just what you really want at the beginning of a negotiation, you won’t get that. You will only get what you have been forced to compromise down to.
On the other side, if your demands/positions are TOO far out of the mainstream, you will be dismissed out of hand and ignored by the Powers That Be. We want to pull Congress …and our candidates….as far left as we can. So we have to yell for our principles pragmatically. It is a fine balance.
If you sacrifice too much principle for pragmatism you have ‘sold out.’ The question then becomes what is the point of winning if you are just continuing the (broken) status quo. If you put Principle totally over pragmatism, you will be dismissed by those who have the power to make the changes you wish to see as being ‘unreasonable’….or in Dkos speak, a Purity Troll. The question on this side of the ledger….What is the point of having principles if you never get to act on them since you are not in power?
Finding the lines and attempting to color inside of them is the key to effective activism. The difference between what we WISH we could accomplish and what we actually can accomplish will usually be pretty vast. Especially so today, in the completely bizarre political climate created by the events…and players, of the last decade or so. And of course, even more especially by the events of the last seven years.
This atmosphere is what the Democratic Leadership is attempting to navigate. And we of course want to try to steer them in the direction we want to go. From our perspective way over here on the “Loony” (principled) Left they are doing an incredibly crappy job. From the perspective of those in the “Establishment” (pragmatic) Left, they are doing the right thing, the smart thing. It is our job as activists to convince them (or scare them) into doing a better job of addressing our concerns and principles.
To do that we in the Netroots have to find ways to work together, ways to try to present a more united front for the principled progressive voice. A more united political position. This has become a sort of quest for me dammit, because I can see the potential so clearly, the promise of what a united voice from Left Blogistan could do to influence and shape the political conversation. And if you can shape it, if you can introduce your ideas and concerns and get people talking about them, you are halfway to winning the battle of getting them acted upon.
So we need as loud of a voice as possible…and we need new ways to present our positions clearly and simply. Impeach!! was a good example of that as I said here, but both to move Congress and to move the candidates AND to promote some form of unity, we need to have more. After all, Impeach!!! runs out in a year! That was the impetus behind the Manifesto Project, but just like Harry Reid, hahaha, I think I set the bar to high and tried to do too much. So, imo our goals need to be to present a clear and simple agenda, in a form that people can get behind.
As the election madness reaches a fever pitch, someone needs to keep their eyes on the ball. Someone needs to remind Congress, the Candidates…and the Netroots, of the huge issues we still face that are inconvenient to bring up in a campaign format. The Big Picture. To do that we need a set of goals, a set of talking points that we won’t let drop, even though we may not see much action on them right away.
In essence a set of demands. Demands that may seem unreasonable to pragmatists, demands that most likely won’t be met. But demands that we all care deeply about and that we won’t let die. And we need an effective form to Yell as loudly as possible, and to attract as many other folks as possible to yell with us. Demands designed so that even if they are ultimately unmet, will force a move to the left, will force the Powers That Be not to forget what has been done to our country under Bushco, and hopefully demands that enough other people in the blogsphere can join in supporting and writing about to make a real difference. We may not succeed in achieving all of our goals, like impeachment for instance, but we can help shape the conversation…..and keep it moving Left as much as possible.
It has always been a bit of a quixotic quest, a fools errand, to fight for truth, justice, and hahaha, The American way in American politics, but someone has to do it. And I think we are just the fools for the job!
My ideas on how, and what we can do….tomorrow!
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Scheming away over a hot stove all day!
Maybe it’s time for a real serious, reasonable, heart to heart with them.
Finding the lines and attempting to color inside of them is the key to effective activism.
Be reasonable.
Never Give An Inch
Ever.
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in principle, lol. And since principles are what it is all about, that just plain means I agree!
But no Pony heads in Cheney’s bed, ok?
…even though there is chance that it may lessen or even eliminate any effectiveness I fantasize that I might have – and I don’t even know if I really have any, or ever had any.
The persona I use in blogging – the pseudonym “Edger” – is a contraction of “Edge-er” – inspired by a quote from Hunter Thompson: “The Edge… There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”
I chose it because my intention always has been to go as far to the left- as close to the edge – as possible, without going over the edge.
And there dig my heels in, never give an inch, and PULL as hard and as long as possible – to see how far I can help move the window towards that left edge – knowing that it is probably impossible to move it all the way over. It’s a sort of “aim for the stars, and maybe make it to the moon” kind of thing…
…we of course want to try to steer them in the direction we want to go. From our perspective way over here on the “Loony” (principled) Left they are doing an incredibly crappy job. From the perspective of those in the “Establishment” (pragmatic) Left, they are doing the right thing, the smart thing. It is our job as activists to convince them (or scare them) into doing a better job of addressing our concerns and principles.
I also describe “Edgeing” on my blog as: “Pulling back from the edge. Sane observations, edgy commentary, and constructive criticism for an insane world. Not quite Gonzo journalism, but inspired by the spirit.”
We – the whole society – is too close to the edge the past few years, I think. We need to pull back from it before we go over, so the “edge” I pull from is as far as possible in the opposite direction.
I guess maybe I’m toast, now…
Never will conditions be more ripe for a swing to the left–never. If we go incremental, we lose. The country has been bankrupted in every area–body and soul–the reconstruction is either here and now–or not in my lifetime (62 years old). The lack of progress in ending the war, in even getting voluntary withdrawal, prove that our “leaders” haven’t heard our screams.
My advice, yell louder. Couch your philosophy in populist terms–set up a moveleft.com–yell with money showing–setting up a shadow party–telling us which Dems are naughty, which are nice. Please don’t lower the volume–my biological clock is ticking–my country is dying–my party is clueless. In sports, fans demand the coaches head, why aren’t we demanding Reid/Pelosi’s head?
gathering large amounts of people.
If you physically gathered all the people in the country who wanted impeachment in front of the capital building during business hours and refused to leave until the issue was addressed it would create some pretty loud yelling. I honestly don’t think politicians will listen unless they have to, and no one has to read blogs.
Alas, everyone is too busy, broke etc..to actually do that. It would be effective though, produce quick results and bring attention to the message and encourage others to join in. Question is, how committed to America and freedom/justice is everyone? Is it worth loosing your job? Not paying bills, destroying your credit? Arrest, detention, public humiliation and media scrutiny? How much of those losses are superficial and how many are un-repairable? If we only have a year to get things right, would it all be worth it?
I think Janis had it right, freedom’s just another word for nothing left to loose..
but it won’t make any difference unless you can break your allegiance to the “lesser of two evils” voting standard that has been the Democratic Party rank-and-file raison d’etre since 1988 and which will bind you to the Democratic Party nominee no matter what variety of DLC suit he or she happens to be. I’ve already written a fairly important diary on this subject, one you ought to read carefully if you wish to continue merely imagining “outburst” as the way to go.
Let’s review. Presidential elections are an easy, predictable, three-step performance:
1) Democrats vote for the “lesser of two evils” candidate
2) Republicans “win” the election through vote-counting fraud
3) Democrats blame Ralph Nader (or some other such convenient third-party scapegoat) for the result
Now the question-at-hand is one of what will change this pattern, if anything. The first and most important ingredient in changing this pattern is the desire to change it. Since “yelling” will only convince the elites that you are (like Howard Dean in 2003) all bark and no bite, the idea that you want to do something about this pattern is by no means a sure shot. That’s up to you.
The next ingredient is the will to learn how to be better voters. The main clues for how to do this are laid out before us. Voting for the “lesser of two evils” will do nothing to solve the real problems facing America and the world, as the “lesser of two evils” candidates are all proposing meaningless pap like “alternative energy” and “Kyoto Protocol” as pseudo-solutions to an abrupt climate change that will probably kill us, and “improving NCLB” as a non-solution to a public school system that helps make America’s youth, its future, impervious to learning. And maybe the US will get out of Iraq by 2013, maybe not.
Of course, we can expect a ton of peer pressure to adopt poor voting habits once the primaries are over. Ralph Nader’s raison d’etre was that “progressives demand nothing of Kerry.” Kerry, moreover, demanded nothing of the political system, running a campaign that ended deeply in the black (i.e. w/ unspent money) and refusing to challenge the fraud that deprived him of the White House. I feel resentful, every day, of having to live in a world where this sort of behavior determines life, sucking the hope right out of the future.
We need to resist this “will to demand nothing” with all our strength — improving our voter habits and voter behavior are our first baby-steps to a better world. Our first baby-steps to those first baby-steps lie in the recognition that “vote for our candidate,” “conform to our opinion,” “vote for the lesser of two evils,” and “don’t complain” are stupefying things to think. In an era in which idiots threaten to sink the ship, our first obligation is to require political life to be intelligent, and to refuse to succumb to the mindless cheerleading that characterizes all of the political occasions which count the most: conventions, election run-ups, and so on. If we haven’t recognized that yet, it’s because we haven’t recognized the point at which the current, dominant process will kill us. That point is coming up sooner than we think.
must have at its base a reason for being. The reason can be lofty; it can be pragmatic; it can be base; it can be nonsensical; it can be powerful; it can be weak; it can be honorable; and, conversely, it can be dishonorable. One thing it can never be [if it is successfully meet its objectives] is strictly a refutation of the actions of another movement.
In past years [the “W” era comes to mind] the left has based its underlying principles and beliefs as anti, agin this, against that position of the Right. The Left has been quick to raise its fist into the air and condemn those dirty, rotten SOB’s on the Right …rightfully so, in my opinion. But, does the finger of ridicule and scorn pointed at the other side equal a movement? I don’t think so.
Unfortunately, the Left, including most blogs of the Left-leaning persuasion have done little more than to examine what the Right is saying / doing and taking great effort in condemning the stupidity, the wrongheadedness, sometimes the very illegality of the Rights’ actions. While this may be a fun [and rightful] thing to do, oftentimes the results are that the Left [especially in the blogosphere] is condemned as shrill, unstable, downright unpatriotic and unworthy of any respect by others less left-leaning. Many of the blogs and commentary on the blogs are irresponsible …prone to operating in a locker-room “can you top this mentality” with the language that matches locker-room conversations. If glib and shallow repartee is the objective, this approach may accomplish that goal. However, quick and witty reply does not a movement make.
A movement is made of an idea unextinguishable, passionately held and fervently shared …an original idea of substance and meaningful to many. “Throw the rascals out”, “Impeach”, “throw the suckers in prison where they belong” seldom measures up to a unifying idea such as espoused by past enlightened presidencies and governments (e.g., placing a man on the moon in this decade; the War on Poverty; …tear down this wall; etc.).
For the Left to have a voice in America, the movement must overcome the obstacles of pettiness in the media and in politics. The Left must rise above the politics of today and inspire the country to move to this higher plane. Any successful movement will be paved with deeds, positive actions, and effective results. As long as the press, politicians and people such as us within the blogosphere are willing to do battle at the bumper sticker level, there is little hope that we will ever succeed in bringing this country to a new, better course.
I suspect that this analysis is much like the bloggers [of their day] were writing about in Rome during the last days of that once dominating empire. God help us prevent just such an ending as befell the Romans.
Got my settlement from that accident……finally. So today is the day……I can hit the donate button. Sorry it took so long!
Louder!
We must yell louder, but yell with good will, if unity (solidarity and united action) is the goal. To wit…
I came across this comment on the front page earlier today:
This particlar diarist routinely spreads extremely bad karma on your site. And, since he’s a frequent front-pager, this happens all too often.
He resorts to name-calling (not to mention basic rudeness).
I don’t get it. It’s more appropriate for the Planet Orange crowd, IMHO. I thought I had found a refuge from that kind of shit over here.
(Also, thanks for uprating my diary. You’re too kind.)
Peace.