(forgive me...I usually don't write diaries but I'm all jazzed up and feeling valued now that I've regained my TU status)
So I'm reading George Lakoff's "Don't think of an elephant" last night and bemoaning the fact that the left has been an unwilling dupe in the right's plans for total world strangulation. I was particularly impressed with his analysis of each party's structure and priorities:
-- The right puts substantial money behind thinktanks, and concentrates on establishing an infrastructure, big-picture thinking;
-- The left takes what money it has and distributes it to those in need, or agencies that service those in need. (I volunteer writing grants at a non-profit down the street and boy, if you're addressing the needs of an 'underserved' population, you've got it made.)
So, what can we do? A kernel of an idea below the fold...
(forgive me...I usually don't write diaries but I'm all jazzed up and feeling valued now that I've regained my TU status)
So I'm reading George Lakoff's "Don't think of an elephant" last night (really, no discussion of frames here!) and bemoaning the fact that the left has been an unwilling dupe in the right's plans for total world strangulation. I was particularly impressed with his analysis of each party's structure and priorities:
-- The right puts substantial money behind thinktanks, and concentrates on establishing an infrastructure, big-picture thinking;
-- The left takes what money it has and distributes it to those in need, or agencies that service those in need. (I volunteer writing grants at a non-profit down the street and boy, if you're addressing the needs of an 'underserved' population, you've got it made.)
Lakoff makes the problem with the right vs. left approaches clear:
-- As the Right's infrastructure grows in strength, so does their power
-- As the right continues to starve the government of tax revenues for social programs, there's that many more 'underserved' we want to help, so our $$ is progressively spread thinner and thinner and thinner...
Those who've read Lakoff already know all this, so let me cut to the chase. There's a major strength the left has that the right lacks and it goes to the very core of our belief system: everyone has something to offer. Cuz they're so elitist, the right brushes off its less educated, less fortunate brethren, and they've built this elite that churns out policy in these thinktanks.
But we can do them one better: we have blogs.
We don't need billions of dollars to infuse some life into the Democratic party, we have US. We the smart, the un- and underemployed, the thoughtful, the funny: the Blogging Community. And we have a lot to offer. There are many great ideas floating around dKos; we operate like an online thinktank. Ideas are hashed out, challenged, and ironed out. We don't need a building with intern accommodations (though I think a yearly convention is necessary). We are the dotcom thinktank model, free from overhead and taxes and whatnot (except for Kos, sorry dude).
It's no secret that the Dem campaigns would take ideas generated on the blogs and use them. The problem comes down to dissemination, and consensus: great ideas work only if lots of people promote and adopt them.
My question is: is there a way for us to more formally engage with Democratic policymakers on all levels? Should we be collaborating with other groups, joining forces to gain more influence with those in power? Should we take a foray into the analog publishing world? Should we invite George Lakoff over for a pint, or labor leaders, or womens' rights activists, or... or...
I have no idea. Do you? Ack, help.