Next week is the YearlyKos convention. Tonight, we’re going to preview a few roundtables, panels and workshops at YearlyKos that involve, highlight, or focus on us young people and our participation in the political process.
We’re also going talk more about getting involved in our own scene, and why and how we can make a difference.
Kossacks Under 35 is a weekly diary series designed to create a community within DailyKos that focuses on young people. Our overall goals are to work on increasing young voters' Democratic majority, and to raise awareness about issues that particularly affect young people, with a potential eye to policy solutions. Kossacks of all ages are welcome to participate (and do!), but the overall framework of each diary will likely be on or from a younger person's perspective. If you would like more information or want to contribute a diary, please email kath25 at kossacksunder35 (at) gmail dot com.
The first half of this looks specifically at panels at YearlyKos, the second half considers the larger issue of activism (and diaries about activism), which extends beyond just the immediacy of Daily and YearlyKos.
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Crashing the States Thursday August 2, 8:00 a.m.
The convention kicks off with a screening of the campaign documentary by venerable kossacks hekebolos and Reality Bites Back. Their film looks at various netroots campaigns across the country. This was clearly a huge investment of time, energy, and resources on their part, and I for one am very excited to see what they’ve got.
Political Job Opportunities Thursday August 2, 8:00 a.m.
Want to work for a campaign? This workshop will feature folks from Democratic GAIN and talk about the variety of jobs available in campaigns around the country.
Volunteer Recruitment and Development Thursday August 2, 9:30 a.m., Saturday August 4, 9:15 a.m.
We talk a lot here about volunteering, getting involved, taking our activism offline. This workship will talk specifically about how to recruit volunteers and develop them into leaders.
State/Local Blogging Panels and Workshops:
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Successful State-Local Blogging Thursday August 2, 11:00 a.m.
How Bloggers Can Work With State Parties Friday August 3, 9:15 a.m.
Local Blogging #1 Friday August 3, 1:00 p.m.
Local Blogging #2 Friday August 3, 2:30 p.m.
Local Blogging #3 Friday August 3, 4:00 p.m.
Becoming a Campaign Blogger Saturday August 4, 9:15 a.m.
Lots of stuff on local blogging, which is great, because that’s a way that anyone can have an immediate impact on a race or on a local political scene. In fact, it’s great to see how these panels and workshops have tremendous involvement of young people.
MissLaura (Local Blogging #1), DavidNYC (Local Blogging #2) and Tim Tagaris (Local Blogging #3), all of whom are under 35, are moderating. You know them from DailyKos, but MissLaura also helped start Blue Hampshire; DavidNYC started the Swing State Project, and Tim Tagaris was Ned Lamont’s internet-presence guru, among other jobs.
Where Do We Go from Here?: Progressive Strategies and the Overton Window Friday August 3, 2:30 p.m.
Our own hekebolos and thereisnospoon will be participating in this panel, which will discuss how to shift public perception and attitudes, particularly in terms of progressive politics.
New Technologies:
Politics 2.0: How Social Networks and New Media Are Changing Politics Friday August 3, 10:30 a.m.
Technology in Politics: The Next Generation Friday August 3, 10:30 a.m.
Technology is dramatically changing politics, especially in regards to the internet. MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites have already had a large impact on political engagement as well as on specific races. This bears on younger voters especially, as we are statistically much more likely to be online. Our own Mike Connery will be part of the Technology in Politics panel.
Building the Progressive Youth Movement Friday August 3, 1:00 p.m.
This panel will look at the growing progressive majority amongst young voters, and talk about building an infrastructure for a sustainable progressive youth movement. The panel will be moderated by Mike Connery, and feature Matt Singer of Forward Montana, Jane Fleming Kleeb of Young Voter PAC (formerly the head of Young Democrats), Shauna Thomas of Young People For, Alexis McGill who headed P Diddy’s Vote Or Die, and Adam Connor, co-founder of the Roosevelt Institution, and Democratic Jack-of-All-Trades.
Candidates Celebration Friday August 3, 5:30 p.m., Vista Ballroom, McCormick Place (invites in your goodie bags)
Come meet progressive candidates from around the country, enjoy drinks and food! Organized by hekebolos and NYBri (Brian Keeler), this is a great way to meet people and talk to inspiring candidates. A preview of Crashing the States will also follow the party.
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While one could suggest that every panel, roundtable and workshop has relevance to younger voters, and that younger voters have relevance to every panel, the panels I have highlighted above are significant because they suggest specific ways that people can get involved, and demonstrate specific ways that our fellow young voters have already done so. OrangeClouds115 has become one of DailyKos’ most prominent food activists, just by taking her interest in food and sustainability, learning more about it, and sharing what she’s learned. Anyone can pick up on an issue that really piques your interest, and let people know about the relevant legislative votes and procedural happenings. (Not to minimize your work, OC, it’s fantabulous.)
Is there a local campaign or issue-oriented group you can join? Is there a candidate who doesn’t have a blog presence yet? Is there something you’d like to read about that doesn’t seem to exist on the internet yet, and if so, have you thought about creating it?
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Something I have found interesting (and at times problematic) throughout this series is the vast difference in participation between life-oriented diaries and activism-oriented diaries. In a way, it makes sense – everyone can comment on their life experiences, whereas not everyone does offline activism.
This needs to change.
It isn’t enough to just sit here and read and comment and recommend. It perhaps isn’t even enough to keep calling and writing our officials, signing various petitions. Donations are great, and they can really add up, but a lot of us don’t have the money to make too many or very large donations. Essentially, what we have to give to this process, this political movement, is our time and our energy.
Personal and real-life-based diaries are great. It’s absolutely true that the personal is the political, and our conversations here about our personal lives detail to a great degree how difficult many aspects of life have become under the Bush administration. It’s important to have a space to talk about this stuff and share advice. Building community, keeping people coming back, is crucial to the success of the netroots movement.
However, I have been surprised that there has not been a higher level of interest and involvement in activism-related diaries. We’re young! We have energy! Conceivably even our most cynical selves still believe in some power to effect positive change, or else we wouldn’t be here. What is it? Do we need to come up with more ways to make a difference? Does it need to be made easier, with more suggestions as to regular ways to get involved? (Park clean-ups, soup kitchens, weekly anti-war vigils...)
What I am saying is not that I want to see a decrease in personal or life-oriented diaries and comments, but rather an increase in activism-related commenting and involvement. The key to that, I think, is an increase in people getting involved so they have something to say.
The YearlyKos panels above suggest a variety of ways that each of us can become increasingly involved in our local scene. Don’t want to start a campaign blog? Contact your state or local blog, sign up, add a story or an observation. Help them out, help them become big. But even then...
I was inspired to see thereisnospoon’s diary this past week, Get Off The Internet! He’s right, and it’s completely true. We’re poised to not just smash the GOP in 2008, but potentially drive one of the last nails into their collective conservative coffin. I want to see that happen, and I want to see the percentage of under-35 voters who go Democratic increase even more. We need to get off our asses, get involved, inform our peers, and take them along.
Yes, the 2008 elections are far-off. But your primary candidate likely has a local group, your voter-registration group may have something going on. If you already have a challenger to your corrupt Republican representative (or the one in the next district over), give them a call. In the meantime, look at what our fellow young Kossacks are doing. They’re raising awareness on an incredible variety of issues. They’re working with campaigns. They’re building progressive infrastructures in their own communities. We can all do that, in one way or another. We’ve already got a bunch of supporters right here.
We have so much power, we have so much time to make tremendous change. The key is getting involved and starting to learn early.
Essentially, what I’m asking is, can each of us become a leader in the progressive political movement? That doesn't necessarily mean grabbing the bullhorn, standing on a chair, and addressing the masses. Leadership comes in a variety of forms, all of which we’re capable of doing. Soliciting volunteers? Updating contact lists? Sending emails? Organizing a group of people to go to a protest? Making an anti-war sign for your car? Dropping off campaign lawn signs? Helping with mailings? There’s so many things to be done, and intelligent and interesting Kossacks such as ourselves can quickly learn the ropes and be a real help to the political process.
So, tonight, let’s think about this, and possibly even talk about it – how can we increase our offline activism? What are you hoping to get out of YearlyKos? What do you get out of DailyKos, and how can you use that in your wider offline community?
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Next week, for those of you who are not at YearlyKos (which is a lot of our regular Under-35'ers), we will have a diary. The details are still being hammered out, but I didn't want to leave anyone out!