Last year I came to the DailyKos community in search of education ideas and found many people here with impressive ideas and a number of great discussions.
So when we started to examine the Democratic Party's message I wanted to come back here and challenge this community again. Our message is not going to be developed for us, we have to come together as a community to develop solution that we can all believe in -- and your input and feedback will be a vital part.
We have launched a new website dedicated to having a discussion about the Democratic Party's message:
www.OurTenWords.com
We have hundreds of ten word submissions and need many more, so that we can have the discussion that this topic deserves.
The idea for OurTenWords.com came in August of 2005, from a diarist on our website, much like many of you -- Michael Faris.
He asked:
I'm going to dwell on my own ten words, and I hope that every progressive and Democrat in this country does, too. Not what they think people want to hear, but those actual ten words that mean something, that show the change that people actually want.
This was
my response to Michael:
Here is my first effort at meeting the challenge and over time I expect my words may change: meaningful opportunity, personal security, individual responsibility, sustainable communities, progressive alliances.
We will all have a different set of ten words based on our life experiences and we will not always agree, but that is why I believe this discussion is so important.
Please take a moment and visit OurTenWords.com and submit your own ten words.
The site gives everyone their own ten words page, discuss submissions, and ultimately vote for the top three submissions. We have shown we can unify on believing in honest government -- is that one of our phrases? Opportunity is the most popular words used in all of the submissions -- is that one of our words?
These are important questions and I hope that as part of this effort our values, principles, and unifying vision can emerge.
I believe that in order to win in 2006 and beyond, we cannot hold our breath and wait until the red states turn blue. We have to work together to find the words that articulate a unifying vision that captures the hopes and dreams of what American can be.
Take the challenge. Ask your friends and family. This effort demands participation by all who care about our party and our community.
So what are your ten words? And what are your thoughts on our message and what we stand for?
Cross-posted on the Heartland PAC community blog
