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A movement where?
I have heard this word movement in the last couple of weeks,
when a friend of mine and I were designing our blueprint(shameless plug Power @
the Polls) one of the quotes we were talking about is "Movin the
Movement", so that got me thinking about this movement I am in. Weeks later a friend of mine and co-intern at
the YP4 office held a brownbag lunch about the young progressive movement so
that got me to think even harder about this movement. Are we truly in a
movement? Maybe I'm alone in this and I apologize for this but I believe we are
in a fertile environment for a movement, but I think that there are too many
chefs and not enough cooks.
We all want to be
in charge instead of being a role player.
Meaning everyone wants to beat there chest about what they do instead of
looking at what we can do together. I believe
that here at Wilberforce the same holds true each president of or campus
organizations what to be Kings or Queens of their arena and not seeing the big
picture, or is it that we don't want to see the big picture. Could all of us have this idea that our
organizations are the be all and all and that it be that all. well unfortunately
we are not the problem is that when we get good at things or amass some sort of
power we are afraid to yield that power to others for fear that it will make us weak. In reality it will make each one of us
stronger and more effective leaders because of a vision of working together and
achieving a greater goal than we could on our own. is there a movement yes ,
only if we work together.
- Jason Richberg's blog
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Word.
That's one of the biggest reasons for the current fragmented state of progressive activism on so many campuses. Each is its own little fiefdom, hoarding its resources and perenially suffering from internal powerplays for the top spot.
The solutions I've seen work so far are twofold:
1 - Create a multi-issue left group on campus, like a "Progressive Student Alliance," or a chapter of SDS. That way people can get involved with the issue they want, and in the process have their political minds broadened to include many other issues.
2 - Create non-hierarchical, empowering organizations. If there are no set positions of leadership, it helps defuse the tendency of the more aggressive members to fight for the top spot, or be dictatorial. Sure, have point-people for various tasks, and people can split up into working groups as needed, but there's no need for a President, VP, etc. Facilitating meetings and taking notes can be done as rotating positions, and will help those who might be socially intimidated with acting in a group develop their own leadership skills. Decision-making along consensus lines keeps the group cohesive and people engaged.
Re: A movement where?
I laughed when I read the teaser paragraph on your blog. Exactly. And only if we work together is there a movement. Your first commenter mentions SDS, and I am surprised the name is still around. In 1969 we had a choice - Young Republicans or SDS. No other political clubs. I have always wondered just how much Cointelpro had with demonizing SDS, because we were TOO democratic (in the ideological sense, not the party sense). It does not seem to be anything new to be considered a flaming and dangerous bomb-throwing destructive radical if one does something like support the Bill of Rights, or the Separation of Powers, or - so on.
I would suggest that Goals for the day after election day in November be placed on the agenda today. 1) Meet and evaluate successful techniques/messages/coalitions/goal achievement, renew (maybe meet at a hot tub) and begin putting into action the goals you START PLANNING NOW. Because...if we wait...no matter who wins that election...we won't be ready to follow up effectively unless we have a game plan in place. Overarching vision - think globally, act locally. Which piece of the puzzle will your group cover? Who will cover others? What issues are crucial in your area at the current time?
I'm surprised there wasn't a
I'm surprised there wasn't a Young Democrats and Young Republicans club on campus when you went to school - perhaps they were only around on the larger universities.
SDS actually didn't exist in any meaningful sense for quite some time: since its implosion in the early '70s up until we refounded it in 2006. It's very different from the original organization, in some crucial ways - both in terms of the ideological tendencies of its members, to how the group is structured nationally.
a movement
1970 San Diego, suburb of the OC, no Young Democrats, so we got SDS on campus. No bomb-throwers, but the full spectrum of Bill of Rights supporters (except no NRA folks). It wasn't a political campus.
Re: A movement where?
Sorry - I seem to have posted twice.
thanks for writing this
Jason,
Thanks for sharing where you are in the process of contemplating what it means to be part of the progressive movement.
It got me thinking too, and I gave some of my own thoughts about the subject here in the blog I posted today.
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!
-Micah