My friend Tom has been posting about the transient nature of Democratic organizing. There’s no permanent groups where you can just join up.
I know I keep getting these things from MoveOn telling me about local events in Nanuet, NY. Turns out that what they mean is, the local event that I could potentially host in my home.
So it occurs to me that part of the problem, or at least part of my problem, is the disconnect of modern culture, particularly on the urban/suburban coasts. Opening my home to my neighbors would be more appealing if I knew my neighbors better. The Republicans started organizing through churches in the 1980s, and that works, because you know the people with whom you go to church. But just a general call to local Dems? In my home?
On a parallel note, my local Wiccan clan has been having the devil of a time (no pun intended) finding a place to hold a large ritual for Yule. It certainly seems like the supply of reasonably-priced rental halls for small, grassroots type groups has dried up. Used to be there was always a VFW hall or Masonic Lodge or some such available.
Are these similar things? Is the ability to connect face to face drying up in the urban/suburban world?
But the only reason I posted that was so I could use the word ‘ephemeral’.
😉
You make excellent points there (both about inviting people into the home, and about the lack of (affordable) community spaces for this sort of thing).
Maybe the way to start is with events outside the home–Drinking Liberally, for example–as a way of at least connecting a core group that can expand outward. But it’s a tough problem.
Drinking Liberally is actually a good idea. I mean, not for Wiccan groups, but for politics.
Wiccans drink liberally in their homes—if they choose, of course!
It is sad, I am closer to my online buddies across the country than my local nieghbors.
I’ve tried getting our local pagans involved in politics but they would rather sit around with drums around a “sacred fire” and tell folks they can’t throw their ciggarette buts in it.
I even had this concept thing and asked for team members with specific jobs.
I’ll just do it on my own. The Dem’s are almost non existant down here in florida. We need to work on the work culture that encourges illegal immigrants and startup some labor unions