My wife and another couple from her Quaker Meeting went to see the movie Milk recently. We all found it very moving and inspiring. Much has been made of the message concerning the need to come out if political acceptance is to be achieved. I will be addressing that issue in a future piece. Here I would like to talk about some other political lessons that my wife and I discerned in our discussion of this film.
"This isn't about Me. This is a Movement."
I had been to church (I'm a Unitarian-Universalist) earlier in the day so I was still a little fired up after the rousing talk we had from a guest minister. So when I heard Sean Penn, as Harvey Milk at his oratorical best, shout out to a crowd of supporters "This isn’t about Me. This is a Movement," I couldn't restrain an "Amen!" from slipping out.
Later, when I thought about this I realized that maybe people would better understand what I was talking about if I used that language rather than saying "It’s the candidacy, not the candidate that’s important."
That's the phrase I have been using in my advocacy for Rep. Kendrick Meek in his campaign for US Senate here in Florida. Let me switch to this new formulation and answer the question "What is the movement he represents?"
I have been calling it The New Political Paradigm and it comes directly out of the experiences of the Obama campaign. The fastest and most efficient way to describe it is to run down a list of items a New Paradigm Politician would say.
It is about voters no longer being passive consumers of politics, but rather active participants in the process of governance.
It is about politicians who LISTEN rather than PONTIFICATE.
It is about getting past identity politics and a culture of victimization, and instead claiming our rightful God-given gifts and using them to make this a better world.
It is about Transparency, Openness, Honesty, Integrity, Authenticity.
It is about bringing EVERYONE into the body politic. People helping people to vote in ALL elections, not just for president every four years.
It is about becoming our True Best Selves as individuals and collectively as a nation.
It is about restoring greatness and prosperity to America through the active engagement of its diverse and creative citizenry.
It is about healing old wounds from the culture wars and reclaiming and rejoicing over the meaningful values we share in common.
It is about taking the reins of government out of the hands of lobbyists and putting them into the hands of ordinary citizens like you.
Now, I don't really know if Rep. Meek (or ANY politician) meets all of these standards. The proof is always in the pudding, ESPECIALLY on the last one.
But, from my research on Rep. Meek and from my minimal interaction with his staff, I get a sense of hope that if he is not there yet, he is moving in this direction. I think that, like President Obama, he feels a true calling to do what he is doing. It is that sense of higher purpose that can lead all of us on to reaching our full potential. I, for one, am willing to join the campaign and help pull Rep. Meek along in that direction.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish" Proverbs 29:18
Related to the idea of a movement is the concept of vision. Part of Harvey Milk’s genius was that he had a very clear vision of where he wanted to go and he was able to convey that vision in emotionally powerful language.
Now, clearly, this could also describe a demagogue, and when I discussed this movie with a friend at church her comment was that Milk was "an operator." I think she might have been referring to the scene where Milk tells an associate to lead a riled up crowd to the steps of City Hall so he can walk out and be "a voice of reason" that averts violence thru his leadership.
One can debate the merits of such an approach and whether it is cynical manipulation or simply a realistic acknowledgment that part of politics is "theater" as Milk says. Republicans have understood for a long time that people are motivated by emotion, not laundry lists of issue statements. Clearly, Milk intuitively understood this also.
But the real determinant as to when something is demagoguery is made by examination of the CONTENT of the vision being promoted. And Milk’s vision was one of Hope and Equality as expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
Now, I’m not willing to go as far as Barry Goldwater and say "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," (otherwise you end up with Dick Cheney), but, I’m willing to come down on the side of "theater" as opposed to "cynical manipulation" in regards to the promulgation of such a positive vision.
From my own experience, I didn’t support President Obama because of his position on health care, I supported him because he represented a fulfillment of Dr. King’s "I Have a Dream" speech. Now, some people will invariably say, "You mean you only voted for him because he was Black?"
But that’s missing the point. I never voted for Jesse Jackson and never felt moved to. But candidate Obama represented something bigger. As I’ve repeatedly said, Andrew Sullivan made it clear that candidate Obama stood for a transcendence of the past culture wars and a real transformation of the political process into one of active engagement rather than passive consumption.
It was this VISION that got me out of my shell and got me to join a local Campaign for Change canvassing group. And that was truly a transformative experience for me and millions of others. Just as it was for the gays and lesbians who participated in Harvey Milk’s campaign to defeat the hideous Anita Bryant inspired Proposition 6 that would have banned homosexual teachers.
10,000 Hours and Becoming Proficient
The third point is an outgrowth of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours concept as described in his new book Outliers. Briefly, it says that it is not so much innate talent that makes the difference in being successful, but rather the actual amount of time you practice what you are trying to get good at. The generally accepted length of time for competency to be achieved is 10,000 hours.
Harvey Milk was a late bloomer, but once he started his political career he basically spent several years doing nothing but campaigning. He also learned from his mistakes. Now Gladwell points out that the reason people practice their skill more is because they feel some kind of calling to it. Milk is acknowledged as a "natural politician". He loved campaigning.
And, the reason he finally won an election is because of the change to district, as opposed to city wide, voting. But, he was able to win that election because he was absolutely primed. He finally had an organized campaign with a clear message and a winning style.
Everyone says President Obama won because the economy collapsed, but they forget the many months of grueling work in developing a grass roots system that registered millions of new voters and then produced them at the polls on election day. Sure, luck is good, but without extensive preparation, an opportunity that opens cannot be taken.
The message we should draw from this, which others have made before, is that politicians shouldn't be afraid of running for offices they aren't favored to win. As Hillary Clinton showed, managing a campaign can be a traumatic experience. It's good to have as much practice as possible.
Kendrick Meek has been a legislator for ten years. Certainly long enough to become proficient at his job (which is why he is the only member of the Florida delegation on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee).
But, it might be a legitimate question to ask about his campaign experience. He's certainly hired a highly qualified consultant. But, is he ready for a state wide race?
We're certainly going to find out. What I want to lift up, though, is to give this example of what he's doing to prepare. From my own personal experience I know that he (or is staff) is actually reading what is being written about him in the blogosphere, and taking it seriously!
I think that says a lot about him and his determination to win.
Authentic Connections
The last item is one that my wife pointed out to me, and as soon as she did I was reminded again why I love her dearly. It concerns how Harvey Milk engaged with people, and being a woman, my wife was more attuned to how relationships were portrayed in the film.
My wife really appreciated the depiction of Milk’s relationship with Cleve Jones. Wikipedia has this comment about Milk’s approach: "Milk would often pull people off the street to work his campaigns for him—many discovered later that they just happened to be the type of men Milk found attractive."
But in the movie, this throw-away line is expertly expanded upon to show something much deeper and important. Milk does simply call out to Cleve as he walks by the shop. And he clearly is attracted to Cleve and says so. But, he also engages Cleve in an authentic manner. This is the crux of the matter.
He is challenging the young man to show his best self, to not simply piss away his life in hedonism.
This is deep. The ultimate message is that we are put here on earth to discover our gifts and then to use them to make the world a better place. This is what transforms Harvey Milk from a simple politician to a Leader. This is the same thing about President Obama that has charmed all of us.
It is this possibility of bringing previously marginalized groups of citizens into a more positive engagement with the body politic that has drawn me so strongly to the candidacy of Rep. Meek.
Allow me to give a more direct example of what this all means. I wrote the following on Facebook while discussing politics with one of my nieces:
I was in the grocery store on Inauguration day and was talking to an older Black woman employee about Obama. Like others in my generation she just hoped he didn't get shot but she understood that we could help him succeed if we all worked together. Then a younger Black woman came up and I mentioned we were talking about Obama. She said, "Yea, I'm ready for Obama to send me my check." The older woman and I laughed ruefully while shaking our heads.
Through the process of campaigns for a new generation of Black leaders, those of us willing to do so will be able to engage people like this woman waiting for her check and slowly expose her to other candidates and issues on the ballot. This is the beauty of the vote by mail process. It allows campaign workers to know who is getting one so that they can be scheduled for repeated face to face and phone contact.
This contact by politically engaged people with marginal voters has a salutary effect on both sides. It helps the campaign worker to have a deeper more authentic less romanticized view of minority voters and it helps previously marginalized citizens to become more knowledgeable and involved in civic processes.
Susan [my wife, a lactation consultant with WIC in Gadsden County] does stuff like this all the time helping young mothers to breast feed. Her loving, affirming nature builds self-esteem in the young women which allows them to be BETTER mothers, thus giving their child a better chance of succeeding and escaping poverty. This is what the Harlem Children's Zone is all about.
What Kind of Legacy Do You Want?
Now I have been discussing the movie Milk in conjunction with Rep. Meek’s run for a US Senate seat here in Florida. But, the political lessons learned from the movie can AND SHOULD also be considered on their own merits. The film is EXTREMELY inspiring, but, I really want to emphasize what a wonderful job it does of showing the actual reality of the political life.
There are depictions of how it destroys relationships, all the compromises that need to be made, the hypocrisy of machine political hacks, and the immense amount of time and energy that must be committed for a job that is often both boring and stressful.
I remember watching candidate Obama when he spoke at a Leon County Democratic Party fundraiser dinner back in August of 2007. He had also spoken at a local majority Black college, Florida A&M, earlier in the day. He seemed tired and it was really brought home to me what candidates have to go thru (FOR TWO FREAKIN’ YEARS!!) in order to be president. You have to REALLY want it. I felt so sorry for him I gave up my opportunity to go up and get a photo with him.
But, with all of this drudgery also comes an enormous opportunity to connect with a large group of people who, through your leadership, can get in touch with what makes this country great. What was so apparent in the depiction of Harvey Milk’s engagement with Cleve Jones was the deep respect he showed for the young man.
Cleve is now famous as the force behind the world renowned AIDS Memorial Quilt. What an enormously moving legacy that is to have. Think for a second how different the young man’s life would have been if Harvey Milk hadn’t called out to him that day.
I don’t know about you, but if that difference isn’t why you are involved in politics, or your church, or your neighborhood, or even just your family, then you definitely need to see this film and let its power seep into your soul.
Now, since this is political advocacy, let me identify myself as Michael Murphree. I'm not on Rep. Meek's campaign staff and I'm not employed by him in any manner. I am an independent blogger. You can find me on Facebook by searching for the email floridanetroots (AT) yahoo (DOT) com.