The following is a draft of a presentation I will make to a group of Democratic Party activists. I will very likely make cosmetic changes in order to make it a deliverable speech; nevertheless, the content will remain consistent.
A central theme of Al Gore’s book: The Assault On Reason is an indictment of the Bush administration and the right-wing politics that has and continues to support it. There is no question that, page by page, chapter by chapter, Gore illuminates the actions taken by President Bush that have either already proven to be disastrous or which threaten the future of our country. The coming nomination of Senator John McCain as the Republican Party nominee for President has already been cast in many places as a Bush third-term bid. For anyone who views the Bush presidency as a failure, the possibility of a continuation of Bush policies must be astounding if not frightening.
At the same time as he takes Bush to task, Gore also criticizes our failure to successfully, even adequately, fight against Bush. As Gore wrote, "It is too easy-and too partisan-to simply place the blame on the policies of George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes." The other central theme of Gore’s book is that we have very nearly lost the ability to use reason and logic to make decisions. This loss combines with an inability to have widely accessible and public discussion about issues. In fact, our nation is strongly in the grip of a competitive ideology, one that says Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Tom Cruise and the winner of American Idol are all more important than Iraq, Katrina and an economic recession. People feel powerless in this country and cut-off from one another. More than that, they feel spoken to but not heard and manipulated but not led.
Allow me to quote from The Assault On Reason:
"If democracy seems to work, and if people receive a consistent, reliable, and meaningful response from others when they communicate their opinions and feelings about shared experiences, they begin to assume that self-expression in democracy matters. When they can communicate with others regularly, in ways that produce meaningful changes, they learn that democracy matters.
If they receive responses that seem to be substantive but actually are not, citizens begin to feel as if they were being manipulated. If the messages they receive from the media feed this growing cynicism, the decline of democracy can be accelerated.
Moreover, if citizens of a country express their opinions and feelings over an extended period of time without evoking a meaningful response, then they naturally begin to feel angry. If the flow of communication provides little opportunity for citizens to express themselves meaningfully, they naturally begin to feel frustration and powerlessness."
Gore thinks that these two themes, a toxic Bush administration and a lack of reasoned public discourse, need to be challenged in order to have what he calls a "rebirth of democracy." Personally, I have high hopes for our electoral system this year. What I wish to consider is the possibility of informed and freely speaking citizens, actually heard citizens and vigorous, healthy debate among citizens.
Allow me to quote Gore, again:
"The traditional progressive solution to problems that involve a lack of participation by citizens in civic and democratic processes is to redouble their emphasis on education...
The remedy for what ails our democracy is not simply better education (as important as that is) or civic education (as important as that can be), but the reestablishment of a genuine democratic discourse in which individuals can participate in a meaningful way..."
It is not enough for progressives to inform the public about issues. It is not enough for progressives to support candidates for office or organizations that pursue progressive policies. Progressives must actively and directly seek to open public discussion. Progressives must compete with the traditional media, which still have a place in our society. The stronger and more attractive our competition is, the more likely that the traditional media will renew itself, even if this renewal seems nakedly based on financial concerns.
Al Gore helped create Current TV as both a competition to normal television programming and as an outlet for young filmmakers. In The Assault On Reason, he has provided a philosophical underpinning for action as well as pointed out some good starts: online political communities, individual political blogging, video and flash animation, "wikis" (these are internet websites that compile public information) and the preservation of net neutrality.
I’d like this group to consider the effect of one young man with a video camera on this year’s presidential race. Senator George Allen of Virginia was openly considered a strong possibility for this year’s Republican Party nomination. A young man with a camera filmed Allen at a rally when Allen was pursuing his reelection in 2006, a reelection bid that he was winning. Allen pointed out the young man and referred to him as "macaca." Up to this point, this event meant little. However, the video of Allen’s "macaca" was posted on YouTube and was picked up by many online progressive sites, where it was eventually viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. People aware of both Allen’s background and the meaning of "macaca" (it is a pejorative racial term similar to our "n" word) came forward on the internet. Allen was forced to explain himself in the traditional media, something that he did badly enough to both look foolish and dishonest. The Allen "macaca moment," which has become a political descriptive concept akin to calling something a "gate," provided a turning point in the Virginia Senatorial race, a race that was won by Jim Webb.
I am here today to ask this group to take actions to reopen public discourse. I want you to take actions individually and collectively. Individually, I begin by asking that each person here participate in the open discussions available on the internet. At the same time, become informed about what is current within the progressive movement as it is communicated on the internet. Personally, I make time each day to at least scan what is available at DailyKos, Eschaton, Feministing, Talkingpointsmemo and Hullabaloo. There are many others that can meet your sense of style and tone and, of course, interest.
I also ask that each of you listen to progressive radio. I am well-entertained each morning on my way to work by Stephanie Miller. Her show combines up-to-date politics with comedy, some of which is dangerous because I’m laughing hard enough to cry and that’s not good when you’re driving.
As a collective enterprise, I ask that this group seek ways to help people who want to participate in gathering political information and speaking out during political discussion. Imagine if this group put a camera into the hands of a young person and that young person was at the right place at the right time. Imagine if this group provided non-partisan civic education support to our school campuses, especially now that budget cut-backs may cripple public education over the next few months. Imagine progressive voices speaking up from here, behind the infamous Orange Curtain.
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DailyKos readers: I welcome your input.
I probably will print copies of my little quiz for attendees to look at before speaking:
http://www.dailykos.com/...