An open question to the activists among us :

[f the letter]

What can we do?

Here's a cross-post to a current thread you guys have probably
seen, but just for reference :

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2858399

i feel like all my activist activities aren't actualizing any
actions because all the acceptable activism is so narrow. i
have a response on the above thread, but paraphrasing it :
shit's not working.  We need something bigger and i don't know
what, and wonder if anyone here who has been at it longer than
i has any big ideas.

Hope someone has some ideas.  Be well everyone

[90-percent]

1. leadership

maybe we need an Abbie Hoffmann or Ceasar Chavez or Julian Bond or ESPECIALLY A MARTIN LUTHER KING to lead us to work to get this country back to our wonderful magnificent CONSTITUTION!

-90%

[f the letter]

2. i hear it,

But what will they do? i idolize all those people for their different reasons and they brought about some legitimate differences in their world.

i'm all for a magic-bullet leader, but i don't see any around and i know it ain't me. i'm also concerned that a leader who will do anything remotely radical will be removed as a threat before we are aware of them, especially now that any view thought to be extreme is legally allowed to be considered terrorism by the u s. What can we do in the meantime while waiting?

[skywalkerjlp]

13. constitution

beyond our yes magnificent bill of rights the rest of our government is larger and almost as far removed (as far as they possibly can be ) as a MONARCHY....of course when greedy, land and mostly slave owning people get together to put a government together, what interests do you really expect they protected most, heck the bill of rights wasn't ratified until a few years AFTER the Constitution was, and only because they said they would, NOT because they had to ( GOD BLESS THOMAS JEFFERSON ...although it was Madison - who was against them in the first place- who drew them up )

[MuseRider]

3. I agree with post #1.

I had to focus down or lose my mind. I feel lots of success with what I am doing. It is difficult and trying but at the state level and the city level you can get in their faces, in their offices and they can't totally ignore you.

Nationally it is going to take someone larger than life I think. We could get behind Code Pink or a number of other organizations but that does not seem to be working very well on the large scale you are talking about. Even Al Gore is not exciting people but everyone knows his work is of major importance but it is not getting people out in the streets or motivating them to start carrying some of the weight. We need someone larger than life to get people really moving both locally and nationally. I have no other ideas, it is frustrating and frightening beyond anything I have ever experienced before.

[TooBigaTent]

4. The time for peaceful, quiet, naively ineffective activism is long gone.

Americans have become so complacent that we see BO as an agent for great "change." He might be able to slow the headlong rush to the extreme right, but true change toward a progressive future, not a chance.

Until many more Americans are willing to take actions beyond the usual, approved-by-the-powerful exercises in ego-massaging like letter-writing, posting on the Net (yeah, I recognize the irony), and voting, this country will not be pulled out of the downward spiral.

A strong radical leader is necessary, but not sufficient.

Real pain and anger from the populace is necessary, but not sufficient.

A reversal of the greed-is-good, selfish republicon value set is the goal, but as long as more Americans are concerned about American Idol (talk about an obvious distraction) than the current American Tragedy, I see little hope of accomplishing it.

[f the letter]

5. i agree with you

But what should _we_ do today? i guess there is no answer.. but i really really want one

[TooBigaTent]

6. There is an answer - but it cannot be talked about. That aside, individual action

is one avenue that is always open and may be a better strategy than group activities. After all, if you are the only one who knows what you are doing, it is less likely that someone else can find out about it. Leave no witnesses.

[f the letter]

7. Not 100% sure what you mean but i think i get the drift

But the reality is i think that i am not willing to take up arms.

[TooBigaTent]

8. Maybe you do and maybe you don't. But, on the individual orientation aspect -

it is like trying to deal with the destruction of the environment. You (and your friends) can protest against a factory or other polluter but are unlikely to have any success. Does that mean you give up? Should you not recycle because the polluting plant continues spewing filth? No.

The "think globally, act locally" mantra fits. And not just for these benign types of activities.

[f the letter]

9. Right. i agree with that local/global mindset 100%

But it's not changing anything. My whole question is what we can do that will have some effect. That doesn't mean i won't continue to perform actions that i feel to be correct though ineffective. i just want to do something that works as my focus, and continue to 'do the right thing' with more symbolic gestures as well.

[Tiggeroshii]

10. Here's several groups that are good to volunteer for that might appeal to a DUer

HRC-Human Rights Campaign(Gay rights group), The ONE Campaign(fight for economic equality), Amnesty International(Broad Human Rights group, NGO on the UN), Human Rights Watch(Like Amnesty, but newer and smaller), If you're in Britain, Oxfam's a decent charity to work for.

Just try to pay attention to what's going on in your area or if nothing's going on, find the right people to get something started. I've been involved with Amnesty International for about 2 years now and have learned a lot and have benefitted in a lot of different ways intellectually and activist wise. In your area, some of these groups may be more active than others, but most likely you'll be able to find a list of contacts on any of their websites, make a phone call and start with attending a meeting, or helping with their campaigns.

on edit: Many of these things may seem small or superficial but just letting people know, passing out fliers, organizing an educational seminar, etc are just a few of the ways that grassroots organizing can still make a huge different in society and the world.

[gristd2]

11. couldn't have put it more eloquently

word. I definitely feel you, and when you rally for a cause and joined "like-minded individuals" your viewpoints eventually diverge, leaving you completely alone. It's hard to live on this side of political spectrum, but we do it because we need to

The idea of working within the system to actualize change comes at odds with idea of approaching the issue in an opposing anarchistic stance. I think both approaches have their flaws, but believe working within the system provides the most realistic change. In such a slow fashion. but it's possible with a lot of willpower and patience

I've been working with PETA to organize for animal issues, and we get so much crap about our own policies and the lies on the media about us. I've also questioned about the personal politics within the organization, but at some point you need to forget about selfish whims, to move toward greater good.

And in true activist form, i must plug in my cause ( http://www.peta.org/feat-abc_campaign.asp ). Grassroots were never easy, never glamorous, but you're left with the satisfaction of knowing what you've done at the end of the day, even if nobody else knows any of it. Good luck with your dilemma, we've all felt it!

[skywalkerjlp]

12. I'm a newbie, but I'm sick off getting shut off by the media at every turn too, check this out....

In the United States, voter registration has never been higher (70 % of the eligible voters ) and yet there has been a steady DECLINE in voter turnout. We had a more than 10 % spike last election after Bin Laden released his video 2 days before the election, and I'm sure there will be another spike this year when Obama becomes the next President. This may placate the masses for a while, but nothing has actually changed. In this day and age of modern technology, a NATIONAL POLL - instituted so the masses can be actively involved in their REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY on a weekly basis, adding in their 2 cents on all the major issues of the week - is the best remedy for ailing voter discontentment. Of course there is probably not one elected official who would ever WANT such a thing, and that has more to do with the FACT that we are a FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC ( google United States, Wikipedia, first sentence ) and NOT a representative democracy. The PEOPLE want to be heard, my most distinguished and learned gentlemen and ladies, or so many of them would not be registering. If you truly want the people to feel positive about politics in general, why not give them an opportunity to become actively involved, say once a week, allowing them to voice their opinions on the major issues. When that day comes to pass, you will have solved voter discontentment in the United States.