Every so often, I experience an incredible moment when I feel extremely proud of the Democratic Party and of netroots activists at the same time. Last night was one of those times.
The moment came about a third of the way into the Obama speech, when our candidate offered the following critique of John McCain's economic policies (emphasis mine):
For over two decades, he’s subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy – give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is – you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps – even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own. (link)
When I heard that phrase 'Ownership Society' being critiqued by Obama in his acceptance speech, I sat up straight in my chair. And when I heard him replace it with the phrase 'You're on your own,' I nearly fell out of my chair.
The Purpose of What We Do Here
"My goodness," I said aloud. "That is the exact phrase we generated in a diary at DailyKos--four years ago.
Like everyone else, I often get questioned by people who do not blog about the purpose of what I do here. It is the old line about 'preaching to the choir,' that is always thrown at me by people who do not invest their time in online political activism. 'Isn't it just preaching to the choir? Isn't it a big waste of time? Shouldn't you be doing something more valuable?'
I always respond the same way by explaining that what I do in the netroots is help generate and participate in a broad discussion about American politics, government, and society. I then explain that the purpose of that discussion is not just to confirm that there are other people in the world who agree with me, but to influence the future of our country--to create a conversation so engaged on the issues that concern ourselves, that it compels media and government alike to take notice and learn from it.
Last night's speech gave me a concrete example--one of the best I've seen in a very long time.
The 'Ownership Society' Diary (11.23.2004)
Almost four years ago, while I was visiting my parents for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I wrote a diary warning people about the right-wing frames re-enforced by President Bush's repeated use of the phrase 'Ownership Society.' The first paragraph of that post read as follows:
ALERT The following phrase has been RECALLED until further notice:
"Ownership Society"
DO NOT USE THIS PHRASE.
If you or someone you know is currently using this phrase, please go immediately to Frameshop for repairs.
WIDELY USED IN CONSERVATIVE PROPOSALS ABOUT THE ECONOMY.
Anyone currently engaged in the following debates should exercise extreme caution: Fiscal Policy, National Debt, Interest Rates, Personal Investing, Welfare, Home Ownership, Estate Planning, Social Security.
All others should immediately make themselves aware of the problem.
BE ADVISED: MAY ENTER THE MEDIA WIDELY DURING THANKSGIVING AND THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
WARNINGS:
Use of this phrase will result in serious damage to political debate and harm to this country.
Repeated use of this phrase will result in the proliferation of a deceptive conservative frame, the further concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, a broadening of the gap between rich and poor, and the destruction of equal opportunity.
EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED.
---
Frameshop is open.
Ah, memory lane.
It was a slow time on the site that night, and since interest in 'framing' was just getting off the ground, Meteor Blades promoted the diary to the front page. An exciting moment--my first front-paged diary.
The basic argument of the post was that the phrase 'ownership society' was not just a description of a Republican economic policy, but a set of keywords the Republicans had generated to invoke an unspoken logic that controlled the debate. My conclusion was simple: if Democrats continued to use this phrase, they would never win the debate on the economy. We cannot win the debate by re-enforcing our opponents frames.
What followed that initial 'ALERT' was the first of many discussions in the Frameshop comment threads, the purpose of which was to brainstorm new phrases that could become alternatives to the Republican keywords.
I kicked off the discussion with the following suggested responses each time anyone encountered the phrase 'ownership society' in political debate:
* "THAT WOULD PUT US ALL ON THE ROAD TO POTTERSVILLE"
* "WE HAVE A NAME FOR OWNERSHIP SOCIETIES: THEY'RE CALLED COUNTRY CLUBS"
* "DON'T YOU MEAN 'CREDIT CARD DEBT SOCIETY'"
* "THAT THE VERY THING THE FRAMERS OF THE CONSTITUTION TRIED TO PROTECT US FROM?"
* LONG LIVE GEORGE W. BUSH: KING OF THE OWNERSHIP SOCIETY
Honestly, I really liked 'Road to Pottersville,' but as is often the case--that only went over well with folks who, like me, had spent the week before Thanksgiving watching continuous re-runs of It's A Wonderful Life.
The comment thread was lively and productive, but this was not what I would call a 'mega-huge' recommended diary. In the past year, as numbers on this site have swelled, many of us have become convinced that significant blog posts are only those that get recommended by hundreds and hundreds of readers and that generate thousands of comments.
This was the list of people who recommended the 'Ownership Society' diary:
Meteor Blades, gina, Rp, Go Vegetarian, SteveLCo, MediaFreeze, Katydid, Cathy Willey, Subterranean, Unstable Isotope, Paul Rosenberg, Robert E, Coldblue Steele, bellatrys, cybo, astrid, roarkdc, lawnorder, biotecchie, Ten Buddhas, bumblebums, Bogleg, DaveV, bcorbs, SamSinister, brooklynben, shipyardian, Freudian Slipper, Pam in MA, Bearpaw, ctsteve, morgie5912, StonyPillow, rilkas
34 people! It seems like little more than a drop in the bucket when you think about what constitutes a popular diary, nowadays.
But after just a few hours late on a Tuesday night, while most of the country was either home packing for their Thanksgiving trip or at their destination exhausted, those 34 people had generated so many good ideas that I updated the diary to make sure the ideas were seen by as many people as possible.
'You're On Your Own' Emerges
Now, I am about to make an absolutely extraordinary claim: I can point to the exact time when the phrase 'You're on your own' was used--and who used it--as an effort by an American to reframe the Republican propaganda phrase 'Ownership Society.'
That phrase was posted as follows at what the system says was 12:52pm on November 23, 2004:
"You're on your Own"ership society (n/t) (4.00 / 6)
by Cache on Tue Nov 23, 2004 at 12:52:00 PM EDT
Amazing, but true. The 'you're on your own' turn of phrase Obama used in his DNC acceptance speech to critique and reframe the Republican 'Ownership Society' first emerged in a discussion about reframing in a DailyKos diary on November 23, 2004 at 12:52pm.
If we are preaching to a choir, then the choir is no ordinary group of singers.
A Phrase's Journey: from DailyKos to an Historic Speech
'You're on your own, of course, did not lay dormant for almost four years until it emerged in Obama's acceptance speech last night. It made a few stops along the way.
A few months after the 'Ownership Society' diary and discussion, a whole series of diaries on framing were bound and circulated to be discussed at round of local Meet Up sessions in January 2005.
We skip forward in time a bit, as the value of framing discussions percolated throughout the Democratic Party establishment--slowly rising up from the roots to the top of the party.
In 2006, Jared Benrstein published All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy, in which the phrase 'You're On Your Own' appeared on the very first page, offering it as a critique of the Republican 'Ownership Society' in light of the suffering he saw in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. (HT for this ref.: buffalo girl)
In late May of 2007, it reappeared on the Presidential campaign trail. In a speech about economic policy, then candidate Hillary Clinton offered the following critique of the Bush administration's plan to dismantle Social Security and other vital programs (emphasis mine):
It's also important to understand these policies are consistent with the administration's theory about how we should manage our economy: leave it all up to the individual.
That's why they want to privatize Social Security and let individuals bear the risks. It's why their answer to the health care crisis is limited to creating health savings account, which allows the healthiest people to get the best deal, with little concern if the sickest get worse.
They call it the ownership society. But it's really the "on your own" society. (link)
The distance from DailyKos to the text of a candidate speech: about two years.
By the time the primary race had narrowed down to two candidates, both candidates had placed the new phrase firmly within their economic policy rhetoric.
Reporting from North Carolina in late March of 2008, USA Today's Susan Page wrote the following about Obama (emphasis mine):
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Presidential candidate Barack Obama, largely ignoring his Democratic rival for now, ridiculed likely Republican nominee John McCain on Wednesday for offering "not one single idea" to help hard-pressed homeowners facing foreclosure.
"George Bush called this the ownership society, but what he really meant was 'you're-on-your-own' society," Obama told a town hall meeting here, tying McCain to a president whose popularity is low. "John McCain apparently wants to continue this." (link)
The stump speeches late in the primary season appear to be the place where 'you're on your own' found its niche in the Obama campaign line up--5 months prior to last night's DNC speech, 3 and half years after a small group of American citizens engaged in a conversation about the need to excise the phrase 'ownership society' from American political debate and replace it with something capable of refocusing the country on an economic vision based on economic opportunity, responsibility, and security for all.
Believing What We Do Is Real
I cannot say for sure, of course, if the sketchy etymology outlined in this 'footnote' is accurate. Perhaps there is a completely different path that the phrase 'you're on your own' took to arrive in Obama's DNC acceptance speech. Maybe there was an a conversation about reframing 'ownership society' that took place completely independent of any awareness of citizen netroots activists and the incredible explosion of discussions we generated in the wake of the last Presidential election.
It's possible. But I doubt it.
The conversations we generated in the Fall and early Winter of 2004-2005 were not only meaningful to us, but set in motion a conversation that influenced the direction our deliberative democracy.
What we do here is real and valuable, and that is true far beyond the confines of one diary, one blog, one small or large group of netroots activists.
More than anything, I am proud of the incredible effort by that small group of people who joined in an online discussion about an overused phrase in political debate. It was work for which there has been no tangible personal reward other than the knowledge those few hours spent in conversation--and other similar moments--helped to set in motion a re-thinking of the core material of our politics: the words we use.
To Barack Obama, the next President of the United States: my hat is off to you for delivering not just a great speech, but for giving this country a an historic moment.
To all of you who took time out that night four years ago to repair the damage done to America's political debate--34 selfless and inspired people--and to all who have done it since, and to all who will continue to do it in the future: A deep bow at the waist to you, the choir. To hear your insights, your passion, and your words echoing up from the depths of Barack Obama's voice was a great moment, and one I will not soon forget.