From the diaries, and someone who needs no introduction around here. --mcjoan
Yes, the Idea Economy, that is.
The opportunity couldn’t be better for investing in progressive ideas. After 8 years of negligent governance we finally have a leader who is listening. This is the time to make our voices heard.
A look at your 401k statement tells you what you already know. Our system is broken. My question is this: What are you going to do about it?
What we all want is to be heard. But how will we make sure our voices are in chorus rather than more noise, and how do we compete with the noise that is out there?
We compete via our leadership.
I am so proud of my work in the early Netroots Movement. Remember when you first discovered the power of community on line? In helping to build Netroots Nation I got to rediscover it every day. Wow. I got bring together so many good people with good ideas and work with so many great people from this community. Last year Speaker Pelosi came to Netroots Nation to hear from us. The year before we had the top Democratic Presidential contenders do the same thing. What began as a coming together of the Daily Kos community became the coming together of the entire Netroots Movement.
A small idea created big change.
Now we have new leadership in Washington and that creates a different challenge. Since we are now being heard, what do we want to say? What are our ideas? Who will bring these ideas to Washington?
We have to empower our next generation of leaders.
When I became a Kos Fellow, I was able to continue my work with Netroots Nation. Because Markos invested in me I was able to find ways to invest in others - in Nolan, Raven, Mary and Karen who now lead Netroots Nation and together have invested in the hundreds (seriously, hundreds) of presenters who shared their ideas in panels, thus investing in the (wow) thousands of attendees who have taken what they learned to become leaders who invest in their own communities, drawing others into civic engagement. Empowerment trickles outward and I continue working on ways to use technology to bring people and their leaders closer together.
It didn’t happen by accident and it didn’t happen for free.
The next generation of the Netroots Movement will not grow without an early investment, and while your voice to the chorus may be what you can contribute right now, if you can do more, I ask that you please consider investing in the Kos Fellowship Program.
My thanks to Markos, the Daily Kos Community and the many corners of the Netroots Movement for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to make a difference.
-Gina
PS: And if you have something left over please consider donating to Netroots Nation, or registering to attend NN09 in Pittsburgh or contributing your ideas to the agenda.
