Bill Clinton meets President John F. Kennedy at the White House in 1963

Words to live by:

"We need a new spirit of community, a sense that we are all in this together, or the American Dream will continue to wither. Our destiny is bound up with the destiny of every other American."
—Bill Clinton

"We must really participate. We can’t just talk. We have got to act…And we must see improvement for masses of people, not for the little group on top."

--Eleanor Roosevelt

  Connecting to Community

Connecting with others who share similar values is a natural part of life.  As members of many kinds of communities  — our families, our neighborhoods, our country, our environment and our world — we share a mutual responsibility to make them strong.  To make them strong, we must take action to support them.  Instead of listing the many worthy organizations that would benefit from your participation, let's consider this discussion a starting point from which you can design your own "Action List".

  Empowering Community:  Building a Bridge to Tomorrow

Here are the top 10 action items that empower our community:

1. Memorize our shared progressive values or carry them in your wallet. Use them to frame every political conversation and presentation.  Download a copy here.

2. Drop in on a local grassroots group, try a Democracy for America local Meetup.

3. Listen to Air America Radio, Democracy Radio and Pacifica Radio on the dial or on the Net.  Tell your friends to do the same.  Advertise progressive radio in your town (create a flyer or freeway banner).

4. Advance your knowledge.  Take a workshop or in-depth training on topics such as communications, organizing, or interacting with people different from yourself.  Good sources are Wellstone Action and 21st Century Democrats (in cooperation with Latinos for America).  Check local events.  Talk about the program you attended, get others to go with you.  The more we focus our knowledge and efforts, the more cohesive our Progressive community becomes.

5. Bookmark Recommended Resources (see sidebar), and devote a little time each day to a quick scan.  An population that relies on a single source of news is an easily deceived population.  Broad knowledge is power.

6. Share your knowledge. Host an house or block party; start an ongoing discussion group at your church or school.  Neighbor talking to neighbor, peer to peer, is the best way to communicate our progressive message.  Keep it local.  If every person took one local action a day, a week or a month to promote and connect our progressive values and vision (aka, the "message") we'd have little trouble in setting the record —and our future— straight.

7. Blog to get your news quickly —and to make news yourself. If you're so inclined, here's how to set up your own blog.  Ready?  Visit Blogger.com and get started.

8. Write to the media (often!) to break the endless loop of the radical Republican's talking points.

9. Join the WiFi community as we gain greater freedom to connect.

10. If you can't donate time, donate money.

  You're Not Me

Many of us are feeling despair over the recent presidential election.  We see the danger of a money-before-people ideology.  Yet there are millions of other people who aren't worried in the least.  Many people are completely unaware of or uninterested in anything political.  They like shortcuts.  They simply want to know who's the "winning team" and then join the popular group.  There are also millions of others who will fight tooth and nail against progressives because they are convinced of some higher reward in exchange for their loyalty.  The radicals bought that loyalty with divisive words not deeds.  Trusting people were deceived for votes. 

Our intentions are honorable, however, but how do we get through?  And do we even try in some circumstances?  Good questions.

To be understood, start with understanding your audience.  Who is this person/group/audience and what do they care about?  The more you know, the better.  Prompt for more information or make assumptions about the dominant demographic that will hear or see your presentation.  You need this information so that you can choose the appropriate value frame and keywords that appeal. Here's quick advice for dealing with three group types:

1.  Your audience knows this administration is dangerous to our freedom.  Great.  Tell them never to repeat the radical Republican's language.  Explain the idea of framing to them.  Tell them about this website so that more people can begin to use the words and frames that describe what we stand for, issue by issue.  Restate our progressive vision every chance you get.  Bold vision is our biggest motivator.  Repetition is the key that unlocks minds.  Carry an extra values list and give it to them.

2.  Your audience is content to believe what the government tells them but is open to discussion.  Not so bad.  Ask them what concern and pride they hold about America's direction.  Show appreciation for their views and be sure to listen attentively.  When it's your turn, begin your side of the discussion with "Here's the way I see it..." and choose the values frame most appropriate to this person's concerns.  Hopefully, you've spent time getting very familiar with the values, keywords and facts on our issue pages.  Use them.  The more we repeat specific words and phrases, the more we'll be widely remembered.  And please, restate our progressive position every chance you get: Democrats are the Party of the People.  Bold vision our biggest motivator.  Repetition is the key that unlocks minds.

3.  Your audience is certain that heaven will reward them for backing "God's man on earth" or they tout another irrational position.  Wish them well and walk away.  If you want to say anything, repeat our progressive vision with "I believe that..." and look for the exit.

4.  Your audience wants the benefits of the profit-over-people ideology.  Wish them well and walk away.  If you want to say anything, repeat our progressive vision with "I believe that..." and look for the exit.