Teddy Roosevelt once said that “(n)othing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty...” and as I have gotten older I’ve begun to realize that this is quite true, especially in the realm of politics and activism. Changing the political landscape of long-standing customs and norms is not an easy process, especially in the face of an incoming administration with priorities completely counter-current to the progress we’ve made as a nation.
Of course, there’s also strength in numbers.
Yesterday the Prince William County chapter of Our Revolution began anew. Rising from roots in the PWC for Bernie 2016 campaign, almost three dozen energized activists assembled at Chinn Park Regional Library in Woodbridge, VA to begin the process of organizing for progressive goals, candidates and causes. As with any group on the ground floor, brainstorming and ideas were abound and there was plenty of passion in the room. Independents and Democrats alike were present, and it was clear that the general consensus was that there was work to do on the county and state level to fight for the needs of our fellow working Virginians.
We’d like to be as inclusive as possible, and we’d be more than willing to listen to Republicans, Libertarians, and other conservatives who have similar goals. As we stand apart from the Democratic Party, it doesn’t make sense for us to alienate those who share a common cause.
Along with fighting for progressive causes, the group also discussed establishing a bulwark for progressives within the local Democratic Party. Although this is not a goal all of those present at the meeting will pursue, it was marked as one of the more appealing initiatives, and several of us already in the party committed to helping others enter and become active participants within it. Developing street-level precinct captains was also a topic of discussion, and the need to build a sustainable electoral movement which transcends campaigns and election cycles.
All in all, everyone came away fired up and ready for action. Our next meeting will center around structure and actually making some of the ideas presented into strategic goals complete with tactics, and hopefully beginning to organize folks around those goals.
A recap email was sent to the group today, and can be found here: 11/27/16 Meeting Notes - Our Revolution Prince William County
You can follow us on Facebook here: Our Revolution - PWC