Navel-gazing. Solipsistic. Self-absorbed. Irrelevant.
These are all words I've seen written about our convention. Yes, they come from those who are on opposite ends of the spectrum from us, or those who are on "our side" but are afraid of the changing of the guard.
Either way, the principal critiques of YearlyKos that I have seen have centered around the fact that we essentially did nothing but talk to ourselves and heap praise upon each other in an enormous, wireless circlejerk--telling ourselves how powerful and influential we are while ignoring the outside world as they laugh at our silly notions about our own power and influence.
Well, I'd like to disprove that with the story of a personal experience that I had yesterday.
First, let's talk about something that happened at YearlyKos--it serves as the basis for the story I'm going to tell.
After the Communicating the Progressive Vision panel (see link for transcript) ended, I approached the mic to leave my feedback on gay marriage for the panel, since the panel had to do with proper framing and methodologies of communication. My commentary--though I don't remember it exactly--went something like this:
I have some gay friends that come from conservative families--and even though I'm straight, they come to me for the latest news about what's going on with the marriage amendment and all that since they know I'm politically aware. A few of them come from really conservative families, and they tell me that their family members object to gay marriage and would vote for bans against it if it came up on the ballot--not because they don't feel gays should have equal rights, but because they feel that the word "marriage" implies to them that their churches would be forced to sanction it.
I've heard that before myself, and what I say back is that Satan-worship is guaranteed by the first amendment, but that doesn't mean that churches have to sanction it. Same thing with gay marriage--it's all about the rights that government bestows, regardless of religious approval. So I'm basically wondering how we can best communicate that concept.
So, let's fast-forward to yesterday. I was at work, and I called up someone that we use for subcontracting work from time to time because there was a project I was thinking about getting his help with. He's a middle-aged Hispanic man--kind of traditional.
And after we had finished talking about work, he said that he saw me giving a speech on TV the other day. I asked where, and he said that it was at some convention in Las Vegas--that he was channel-surfing, and happened to flip to C-SPAN just in time to see me on TV, and that I was talking about gay marriage.
At that point, I really wasn't sure what was going to happen next. But then, he said: "You know, before I wasn't really sure about that whole gay marriage thing. But you know what? What you said up there made a lot of sense, and I agree with you. And that's the position I'm going to take from now on."
I thanked him profusely for the kind words. And you know what? Hearing that made my day. Hell, it made my week.
So at least I know that in one small way, YearlyKos made a difference to someone I know. Even if that's all I have to hold onto, the idea that by the mere fact of its existence YearlyKos gave me an opportunity to say my piece--and change a mind in the process--will stick with me for a long time. Even if I have absolutely nothing else that I can point to about the tangible way that YearlyKos affected or influenced the outside world beyond just the bloggers and journalists who write on politics, I will at least be able to say this much:
YearlyKos helped me communicate ideas and change some minds about some things that really matter.
Did I have a blast meeting everyone? Absolutely. But now my convention experience goes beyond that. I now can be justified in believing that I personally helped make a difference.
And that's very gratifying.