Lets start a national dialog. Not just with Liberals/Progressives/Democrats, but with everyone.
Ask everyone you can to answer the question: What kind of a world do you want?
Ask them to be brief, and write down all the answers you get. Collect them together and show them to the world somehow. Start a website, a zine, a newspaper, a tv or radio show, and use it to share all of the ideas you find. Or stand out on a corner and read them to passersby. Whatever, just get these people's ideas out there.
Don't judge! Don't edit! Just let people have a voice.
This is just a first step, but I think it's a necessary, healing step, that will lead to people thinking about the kind of world they want to live in. Feel free to rephrase the question if you wish. But make it an open-ended forward-thinking question. Another good possibility might be: What kind of world do you want for your children? Or: What do you wish for the future of the world?
This could even be a great Christmas/Hanukah/Solstice/Kwanza/New Year gift for your family and friends!
I've been hearing a lot of experts talk about the lost art of listening as being a real key for progress. And as liberals, we do seem to spend and awful lot of our time demanding things ("Agree with me! Or die!") - so much so that we rarely ever let anyone else get a word in edgewise. Letting people share their ideas gives us, as well as them, power to make changes. Let's get rid of that "elitist" image by letting the people speak for themselves. We don't have to agree with them, we just need to let them know that we care enough to listen to them.
In doing this project it is especially important to talk to a wide range of people (think of Barack Obama's inclusion speech!). Talk to your grumpy uncle, your shy neighbor, the kid who works at the corner store, and the toothless woman at the laundrymat. Especially talk to the people you don't think you agree with! I bet you'll be happily surprised at some of the wonderful answers you'll get from the least likely people.
Remember, one of the reasons that people are so frustrated with politics is that they feel:
- that no one will listen to them.
- they don't think they know enough to make decisions.
The process of collecting simple wishes for "a better world" removes those barriers. Everyone has at least some basic opinion about the way the world should function. And when they see that someone is willing to listen, they will likely open up and become more engaged in their world. When people realize that their opinion matters, they will me more likely to put the time and effort into coming up with a good opinion! (This very blog community is a testament to that!)
Another really important part of this project is to refrain from judging or censoring anyone. If you try to insert your own opinions, the project will fail. Sure, it might suck to have to repeat some of the stuff that might be spewed from some of our less than respectful human brethren. But it's absolutely vital to let them be heard, too. (Though you could respectfully ask someone to rephrase something so that it's "printable", and you should feel comfortable asking for clarification, if you don't understand their point.)
So, I challenge the DailyKos community to take up this project on a local and global scale. Take inspiration from the "We're Sorry" websites that have spread like wildfire lately. Those were beautiful! Now, lets move on to something that could be just as awesome, and will give everyone some hope, and maybe something to think about.
How about it? Start with you...
What kind of a workd do you want to live in?