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Nov. 4th, 2004 10:21 amI fear that in 2008, there won't be nearly as much activism on the liberal side, because many of the people who did lots of activism this year are discouraged-- feeling like "I did so much stuff, and we still lost, what's the use?" And people who didn't do lots of activism might feel like "look at all those people who wasted their money and time, why should I join in?"
Please, please, please, everybody:
* Keep in mind that every election cycle is different. 2004 was not lost for lack of grassroots activism. But in 2000, more activism would have helped-- and a tiny bit of additional help in Florida would have made all the difference. We won't know until November 12, 2008 whether 2008 will be more like 2000 or 2004.
* If you are feeling burnt out, take this time to heal by retreating from the world and doing something that makes you feel more whole. Tune out the news. Paint the living room, go horseback riding, go shopping in Canada and buy yourself lots of goodies, plant bulbs in the yard, write some cool software, whatever.
* If you didn't do activism this year, do some in future years because otherwise those of us who were out there doing battle are going to get really burnt out doing it all without your help every year and things will only get worse. If you can't imagine what you could do or how you could fit in, talk to those of us who now have some activism experince. There are all kinds of ways to help.
* Let's not put our eggs all in one basket by focusing just on Presidental races. What the President can do is limited by the makeup of the Congress. Congressional races in 2006 are our only hope now for clipping W's wings. Focusing on taking the Congress rather than the White House can be less demoralizing because the outcome is not all-or-nothing; there will always be some victories, letting us feel that we did at least some good. (Hoeffel beat Spector in Pennsylvania! Yay! Woo-hoo!)
Please, please, please, everybody:
* Keep in mind that every election cycle is different. 2004 was not lost for lack of grassroots activism. But in 2000, more activism would have helped-- and a tiny bit of additional help in Florida would have made all the difference. We won't know until November 12, 2008 whether 2008 will be more like 2000 or 2004.
* If you are feeling burnt out, take this time to heal by retreating from the world and doing something that makes you feel more whole. Tune out the news. Paint the living room, go horseback riding, go shopping in Canada and buy yourself lots of goodies, plant bulbs in the yard, write some cool software, whatever.
* If you didn't do activism this year, do some in future years because otherwise those of us who were out there doing battle are going to get really burnt out doing it all without your help every year and things will only get worse. If you can't imagine what you could do or how you could fit in, talk to those of us who now have some activism experince. There are all kinds of ways to help.
* Let's not put our eggs all in one basket by focusing just on Presidental races. What the President can do is limited by the makeup of the Congress. Congressional races in 2006 are our only hope now for clipping W's wings. Focusing on taking the Congress rather than the White House can be less demoralizing because the outcome is not all-or-nothing; there will always be some victories, letting us feel that we did at least some good. (Hoeffel beat Spector in Pennsylvania! Yay! Woo-hoo!)
