First off, this is not a GBCW diary nor is it a TTFN diary. This is a diary about a community drifting apart and questions we should be asking ourselves about why we are here and what we hope to accomplish.
Lately I’ve been asking myself why I still come here. I don’t come here for news as much anymore. I can get my news at Fark where each linked story comes with a very short, usually snarky heading and no exhaustive evaluation. If it’s something I’m interested in I read the story, and if it’s not I don’t.
I don’t come here for the comraderie anymore. It seems when we’re not attacking republicans, we’re attacking democrats. And when we’re not attacking republicans or democrats we’re attacking each other. Oh sure I see some friendly faces and share greetings across crowded diaries. But I’m really not feeling the whole "community" vibe anymore.
I don’t come here for thoughtful discussion. After I’ve separated out the hyperbolic spew, the back and forth bickering, the simplistic analyses and the meta moaning, there really isn’t much good stuff left to talk about besides pooties and gardening and other hobby subjects that so wonderfully round out this community.
The other day I realized I come here out of habit. I’ve been coming here since Oct of 2003 (I think I didn’t register until January or February) and a good chunk of my life has been spent with the persistent ritual of seeing what’s new at Daily Kos. I used to come here EVERY day. Now I come here on days I don’t have much else going on.
I figured that would probably be enough. But the other night something happened. I was in a diary that basically told Keith Olberman (paraphrasing) "Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out" and I objected to it. I objected enough to HR the tip jar. Some people had issue with that and there was a lengthy discussion about whether it was permissible to call out a diarist if they’re a "Public Figure". Well I’m sorry. I don’t particularly think Keith Olberman’s status as a "public figure" gives us license to be complete assholes to someone who has been a prominent member of this community. Agree or disagree with what he says or does, but don't spit on him. So I stood by my HR and someone (I forget who) commented that they were going to report me to Meteor Blades for HR abuse. I rolled my eyes and thought "well isn’t that just peachy?" but it's stuck in my mind like a splinter. What would happen if I were issued a "warning" or even (God Forbid) Banned? Would I even really care? Would I even miss anything?
I chewed on those thoughts for a while and at one point I was so fed up I was a hair’s breadth away from coming on here and posting a GBCW diary. But I stepped away from the edge and tried to figure out what it was that was really making me feel unhappy about being here anymore.
This place has been absolutely obnoxious on a semi-predictable schedule. Pie fights following pie-fights. Cliques fighting cliques. People swearing up and down and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Sound and fury signifying nothing. Changing nothing.
We mobilized the nation in 2008. Democrats won larger margins than they’d had in decades! Partly because republicans had screwed up so badly, but a lot of it because we as a people wanted CHANGE so badly busted our asses for the one man willing to stand up and promise us change.
A year and a half has come and gone since Obama has been sworn in as President (I hate the term "inaugurated" like the President was some kind of King). The drapes and china have been changed in the while house. An organic garden planted in the president’s yard. New faces brought to the head of existing bureaucracies. Some promises were kept early on. And more have been smothered by half hearted lip service and weak rationalizations.
People are disappointed. I get it. But I realized what bothered me so much was the way people thought they could "contribute to the fight" around here. Writing manifestos saying we should stand behind Obama as our leader or that he’s sold us out to his corporate overlords, is not helpful. Posting "open letters" to people in power here, when there's no chance in hell anyone important will read it or care, is not helpful. Turning Dailykos into the largest, loudest, smelliest vent-hole on the internet, is not helpful. People think righteous anger is going to change the world, I got news for you, it isn’t going to change jack shit.
Let me provide an example, if I may. Code Pink: On paper it seems like a great progressive organization. They want to bring peace and empower women to make their voices heard. In practice, they are a completely different animal chasing after publicity and staging "shock protests" at congressional and other government meetings. They defeat their own purpose because they think that the way to get what they want, to make their voices heard, to be obnoxious and confrontational to the people who make the decisions. They just ram their heads right up against that brick wall as if they’re going to tear it down. This has not, does not, and will never change anything.
So I got to thinking: What WILL bring the change we want? I thought up a few points (feel free to add to it):
- We have to stop bashing people and start convincing people. Calling people with the slightest right leaning tendencies sheep and claiming they’re evil heartless bigots who only want for themselves and fuck everyone else, is not helpful. Taking the time to understand what they want, and most importantly what they FEAR is going to get you much farther than treating them like the enemy. It’s bad enough we’re on the receiving end of this very same bullshit rhetoric without feeding into their belief that we are out to destroy them, this country, and everything they hold dear. If someone thinks you’re evil, yelling at them and returning the invective will only convince them you are. Smile, offer them a cookie, and wish them well. In addition to driving them crazy, it will eventually wear them down like water over stone. A series of well placed whispers changes more minds than a shout.
- We have got to stop thinking the only way we can change the system is from the outside. Yah we can keep throwing ourselves at the gate and maybe someday we’ll tear it down, but we need people on the inside to loosen the hinges first. The federal government (and really any government) is a series of systems designed to provide the greatest access and influence ONLY to people who are "in". This is why so many former members of congress and their staff members become lobbyists. Once in, they spend years networking and forming alliances and gathering favors. They listen, they talk, they stroke egos, they cajole, they influence. Long after their time in the system has ended, they still walk the halls shaking hands and whispering in ears. WE need people (good solid people) in that system. WE need to be forming alliances and networking and, yes, stroking egos and cajoling.
- Protesting is not enough, especially if you can’t bring massive numbers. Let’s face it. The population isn’t much into political activism anymore. Gone are the days where you can get a million+ people to march on Washington. Now it's online petitions that people only have to click a button for. Plus, people are turned off in disgust by the entire system. It’s almost impossible to mobilize enough bodies to fill the DC Mall from one end to the other in these modern times. We have to be willing to do more than protest. We have to be willing to LOBBY congress. I’m not talking about writing your congressional reps a letter or calling their offices to unleash fury on a long suffering, overworked staffer. I’m talking about approaching it from a professional angle. Call and make an appointment. Form an organization, even if its members are mostly cats and give it a nice name like "Mothers for food safety" or "pediatricians for social justice" (don’t misrepresent yourself in your organizations. Don’t pretend to be something you aren’t) and call your rep and say "I’m so and so from such and such and I wanted to see if I could have a few minutes with senator whoever to discuss yadda yadda.". Be nice. Be charming. Be succinct. Bring your best smile and your best "bullshit mojo" and nice color presentations. Be a con man (or woman) for your cause. Do NOT be defensive, do NOT be confrontational, do NOT let them ruffle your feathers, and do NOT be "impassioned" (Please note there is a difference between being passionate and being impassioned.) It is sad that our system of government has come to this, but the line between politics and marketing has become blurred to the point of indistinguishable and it will benefit the progressive cause greatly if we all learn a few lessons from the marketing department. Because what we need to do is little different than selling insurance. We are selling government policy. And you can bet the special interests are damn good at it. They need some competition. And you don’t get that screaming "LIAR!" or pouring oil all over yourself at congressional hearings.
If this is a war, we need to strategize. We can’t just run in thinking we’re going to overwhelm the system. Because that is not how it works. We have to become part of the system to change it. But most importantly, we need to step back and take a critical look at how our actions and our words affect (and don’t affect) change and whether they will bring the change we want or uncomfortable consequences.
I guess what I most want to say is, we can no longer afford to sit back and feel angry about the way things are. We have to stop thinking that being righteous is enough. Righteousness is not the same as right.
I apologize. I started this diary talking about how we’ve degraded as a community and gone off on a tangent to preaching on activism and I didn’t originally intend it that way.
For that I’m sorry.
We just need to be more than all this noise.