America’s new radicals (very inspirational)

[tommcintyre]

http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Nov2004/x-Nov2004-Younge.html

America’s new radicals

Gary Younge

November 2004

Gary Younge meets the newly politicised foot soldiers fighting to force Bush out of the White House

Schlepping through the suburbs of Derry, New Hampshire, on a hot Sunday afternoon, armed with water, granola bars and talking points, Pam and Patrick Devaney went to seek out progressive voters. Derry is a swing town in a swing state – a crucial battleground for the US presidential election, and the Devaneys are shy but determined novices. ‘I’m not comfortable doing this, but it has to be done,’ says Pam. ‘Our democracy is at stake. This is the most important election in my lifetime.’ Patrick says: ‘I always thought someone else was out there doing the job for us. Now I wonder what we were doing in New Jersey.’

And so they knock on doors, asking people who have shown an interest in the anti-Bush campaign America Coming Together (ACT) what they believe the main issues in the election are (the war and healthcare for most), and giving them leaflets with a liberal analysis. For tax reasons ACT cannot lobby directly for Democratic candidate John Kerry, but there is no doubt it wants him to win. What happens to Kerry’s campaign is important. But what happens to the Devaneys, and hundreds of thousands like them, is crucial.
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If we are truly interested in the possibility of US imperialism being checked we must look to the likes of the Devaneys: people who have been foot soldiers in the US’s own civil war over the past 18 months. New Hampshire, a state that Bush won in 2000, and which is by no means radical, is full of them. (read more)

I have activist opportunities listed:

http://www.independentmediasource.com/index.html

http://www.independentmediasource.com/activist_corner.htm

[riverwalker]

1. I am in awe of some of the young people I have met

while volunteering this election. Damn, you should be proud. I have been blown away by the commitment, political savvy, and idealism that I thought was dead in this country. :thumbsup: