Hi folks! I'm writing this diary while stranded in Brooklyn, unable to make it to JCER's Manhattan office. Many people in NYC and NJ have it far worse than me, and my thoughts and prayers are with them. Things finally seem to be getting back to normal, albeit slowly, and it seems that now is an appropriate to get back to politics.
The purpose of this diary is twofold: 1. To introduce JCER's video aimed at Millennials 2. To answer questions you might have about the video or about JCER in general. We wanted to do this earlier, but you know, the hurricane...
Follow me below the fluer-de-kos and I'll give you the skinny.
After weeks of dominating the political video scene with high-visibility viral hits like Samuel L. Jackson’s “Wake the F*** Up,” Sarah Silverman’s “Let My People Vote,” and the “Actually...” series starring Rosie Perez and others, The Jewish Council for Education and Research (JCER) decided it was time to release a poetic and forward-looking appeal to millennial voters. Young voters were a key constituency for the Obama campaign in 2008, and we wanted to tell the story of the youth movement of the past four years, and how it coalesces in 2012.
The video, “Childish Things,” was written, shot, and produced by young activists speaking directly to their peers about the importance of supporting President Obama’s re-election. The footage was crowd-sourced from around the country, meaning the video was truly created of, for, and by the people.
The title takes its inspiration from President Obama’s inaugural address -- connecting the resolve felt so widely during the 2008 election with a focus on the future:
"The time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."
As a Millennial myself, I think this video is extremely important. We were so fired up last election, and for good reason. We saw change coming, and were excited to be a part of it. But 2008 wasn’t the end game. It was the beginning of a cultural shift, and one that we need to keep working for. We’ve grown up since the last election and we know that change takes time and effort. That's why it's so important that we continue to move forward as a nation and re-elect President Obama.
During the RNC, Paul Ryan said that young people had spent the past four years laying on their childhood beds staring up at faded Obama posters. I took that personally. For the past four years, all of my friends and I did our best to improve our communities - even when so many of us were unemployed as a result of Republican economic policies. Whether it was by designing a new website, starting an urban farm, or creating artistic community centers - this generation spent the time since 2008 committed to building a newer, better future.
Childish Things - in form and function - gets at the vision this President has for America. We’re all in this together. We made this together. We built this together.
I sincerely hope you enjoy Childish Things and are inspired by it. Please share with anyone who might be impacted. We also created a companion website for the video with an easy-to-use tool to help you find your polling place. USE IT!
I'm going to stick around Daily Kos for the next hour or so to answer your questions.