Drinking Liberally

In a car accident, you hope your seat belts are on.
In our current economy, we need to ensure
government support keeps Americans strapped in.

Just as airbags cushion riders in trouble,
we need unemployment insurance, healthcare,
& mortgage support to cushion our fellow travelers.

To avoid a pile-up, you may need to accelerate,
just as we now need to accelerate our economy
with jobs, infrastructure & green investment.

And no matter how bad the car's condition,
nobody's left stranded at the side of the road.

Detroit's difficulties are trouble for us all:
if America's auto industry crashes, we'll need
smart safety steps to survive a national car crash.

Join the discussion & share a drink
(and have a designated driver, if you do)
with like-minded lefties & liberal libations
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Thirteen days ago, an invigorating Tuesday night warmed our liberal hearts. Election Night brought the country to cheers and to tears, and as people applauded in the streets and shouted out windows and chanted in the subway in New York, I felt real hope and enthusiasm for our prospects.

Now, how long will that energy last?

Sure, the next day people were still sharing smiles during their morning commute...but in our over-saturated culture, will the emotions of our society really be swayed?

My experience on Saturday at the post office suggests the emotional impact wasn't just a one-day wonder.

I had to mail 75 boxes on Saturday. In NY, that means there's one post office I can go to: the main branch. And it's never fun carrying 75 boxes around a bustling city. So I wasn't in a great mood even before waiting for 40 minutes to get to the front of the line. And the guy at the counter wasn't thrilled by the 75 boxes either.

He opened a new window (so we wouldn't hold up the rest of the line) and got to work. He was fast (I actually always find the post office really efficient). And as we got to the final box, he asked me what all these packages were.

"It's for a political club I'm part of," I replied. I instinctively avoided details of my politics as this guy was at his job.

"Must've been a really busy time for you," he said. Then, he added, less tentatively than I'd been: "And a good time."

It wasn't that he was hunting for my political leanings; he just assumed them -- assumed that an American would have to have been excited by what had transpired.

I took the bait. "Well, these are celebratory gifts," I explained. And he smiled. I fished a button out of my pocket and handed it to him.

"Drinking Liberally!" he read out loud. "Now that's the change Barack Obama was talking about!"

He put the button on, becoming a newly-minted Drinking Liberally member right there at the post office. We chatted about where we'd been on Election Night, and saw each other off -- maybe not like good friends, but definitely like friendly neighbors.

A stranger and I made each other happy through our shared politics. More, he clearly just felt it a shared experience -- an American experience. He was proud of his country and there was no question in his mind that others would be to.

If that positive energy makes it back to Thanksgiving tables around the country next week, people will toast our President with their like-minded family members and will at least talk politics with their less agreeable family. That's a good thing for our country, it's a good ingredient to keeping the momentum going.

As we saw with marriage equality rallies last Saturday, politics is remaining central to many people's daily lives, not being shelved for 4 more years, or filed under "completed" on November 4th.

While it's the challenge of our Community-Organizer-in-Chief to turn this hope into a governing constituency, it's also all our jobs to keep talking politics...and maybe be a little less hesitant than I was at first.

Even 40 minutes at a post office isn't something that a little political joy can't cure.

The lamest duck invites the coolest kid over to his house,
& though they've disagreed & even dissed one another,
the two play nice in the Oval Office.

In a time of two wars, a veteran loses an election,
to a man who promises change in military direction,
& nobody's worried we'll see tanks circling the Capitol.

From the economy to healthcare to global climate change,
America's making new choices, possibly a leftward swing,
& right-wingers snipe on TV...but no sniping in the streets.

Despite flawed elections, curtailed liberties, timid press,
corporate interference, corruption, incompetence & fear..
we didn't manage to completely break democracy yet.

Our democracy's a little stronger than that after all...

Raise a glass both to the results of the election
& that we had an election...now, that's worth toasting.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

With the election over, the discussion turns to how to keep progressive momentum going outside of the campaign. We need to do this to move a liberal agenda in DC; to keep newly-energized activists engaged; and to overall shift the debate in this country.

Pushing progressive values with your vote is one step; funding those values with your wallet is another. And with the holiday season coming up, it seems like this is a good opportunity to promote -- and support -- progressive businesses.

What's your favorite progressive business? Your fair-trade coffee provider, or your bar that hosts political events? Your local alternative performance venue, or an environmentally-conscious gift shop?

Let us know in the comments thread. At Living Liberally, we're working on a project called The Liberal Card that, as among other goals, aims to promote these businesses. We remember what a good resource Buy Blue was after the last election, directing us to businesses that leaned our way and warning us against those that didn't (and are happy that Advomatic will be reviving that program in the future). What was a good idea in '04 is an even better idea now. So suggest a few businesses to us (or offer yourself up if you are one) -- as we get ready to buy blue this holidays season.

The election is over. Bad guys lost. And Bush's time is at last coming to an end.

So we can rest, right?

Um...no.

Yes, we can celebrate -- and we've earned it. The end of the Bush administration and the start of a hopeful new chapter in America deserves to be marked, to be shared with friends and with your progressive community. And our good friends at CREDO are willing to pay for it. That's right, they'll fund 1,000 "End of Bush" parties over the next 10 days -- just sign up now (or attend one being thrown by your local Drinking Liberally).

But don't think of these as farewell parties. A progressive agenda still needs us: to support an administration that needs our advocacy, and to push the administration when it doesn't live up to our ideals. Too often, after Election Day, campaign offices close, grassroots groups go into hibernation and "fired up and ready to go" activists are left without a political anchor.

That's where Drinking Liberally comes in. By meeting regularly year-round, we serve a more important role between elections, creating continuity for your political energy, supporting a community that doesn't ebb and flow with campaigns.

CREDO gets it. They are an organization in it for the long haul; they've moved $60 million to progressive groups over the years, and they've invested heavily in infrastructure to register voters, get out the vote and protect voter rights. They have been an ally and an inspiration. And now, they are throwing these parties...to keep us fired up (and fed and tipsy and happy) for the battles to come.

Yes, we can.

Elect a new President, from a new generation,
with new vision, language, spirit,
& an American story unlike any past President
but increasingly like the story of America.

Yes, we can.

Start imagining solutions, not just problems,
as this moment of election already begins the work
of reviving our national spirit
& restoring admiration for America around the world.

Yes, we can.

Say no to fear & smears, slanders & panders,
no to callous, corporate, corrupt, cronyism,
say "No More" to war, torture & to utter disregard
for our earth, our neighbors & the least among us.

And now we need to keep up the fight:
to hold a new President & Congress accountable,
to create equal rights & protections for all,
to engage the public in governing, not just campaigning.

This week we got tipsy sipping the drink of democracy.
...but there's nothing wrong with being a democraholic.
Let's keep Drinking Liberally.

Raise a glass, a toast & a barbaric yawp
as we celebrate, embrace, hope & imagine
over liberal libations with like-minded left-leaners
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

The above note hangs on the wall of the Norristown, PA Obama office where my sister has been working. A grandkid's plea...so here's mine:

Need it be said? Go out there and vote.

Bring a child to watch you vote.
Bring a friend and double your vote.
Bring an umbrella, a book, a sound system -- make it a party, as Color of Change recommended to its list, to keep people engaged, keep them entertained and (most importantly) keep them in line.

Wear a button.
Smile at people who are wearing buttons.
Start conversations about your button.
High five strangers -- it's awesome.

If you're in NY, make your vote count more by voting for the Working Families Party line.

You've donated, you've blogged, you've swayed your friends. If you have any hours today, do more than vote -- we need you in the field or on the phone, every hour you have.

Then - join friends afterward as we watch the results.

Election Day is almost upon us...and after that, election night.

Where will you be?

An increasing number of articles have detailed the desire to share the evening with others...suggesting that like the moon landing, a world series game, or a season finale, this is the type of moment -- profound or absurd -- you want to remember.

And in each city, like here in New York, I'm sure there are listings telling you what's going on.

So we decided to make it easier for you?

If the question is: Where Do I Go On Election Night?
The Answer is: WhereDoIGoOnElectionNight.com.

Because the evening will be better in the company of friends.

by Andrew J. Bernoff, Professor of Mathematics, Harvey Mudd College

(The following was sent to us by Greg Rae, a member of the Living Liberally leadership team, who is in California working on the No On 8 campaign to defeat the referendum against marriage equality.)

February 18th, 2004 was the happiest day of life.

On that day I married my husband, Tom, for the first time at San Francisco city hall. It was a day I never thought I would see. It was act of passion, an act of political activism, and a small step on a road toward equal rights for gay and lesbian couples, even if the marriage was eventually declared a legal nullity.

On May 15th this year the California Supreme Court affirmed that our actions in San Francisco were not only justified, but mandated by the idea of equal protection in the state constitution. Separate but equal is inherently inequitable or to quote the court:

"In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples."

I married Tom for a second time on July 2nd , hoping that finally we would be viewed equally in the eyes of the state. Proposition 8 threatens to invalidate our marriage.

As a gay man, I'm tired of being treated like a second-class citizen. I have been spat on, badly beaten, and had beer bottles thrown at me. Even in Claremont, I have had eggs thrown at me from a moving car whose occupants yelled that omni-present epithet 'faggot' at me. As a gay couple, Tom and I are also tired of being treated as somehow inferior to our straight counterparts. We've spent hundreds of dollars getting legal documents such as wills and durable powers of attorney, just to try and protect ourselves and our futures. When it comes to benefits afforded to married couples, we have been discriminated against by insurance companies, academic institutions, hotels, and car rental companies, not to mention federal and state taxes. Sometimes these hurdles are low ("You are domestic partners? OK, fill out these forms in triplicate and get them notarized and we will let you . . . .") and sometimes they are impenetrable (Tom is on my HMC health insurance policy, which is taxed federally and has cost us literally thousands of dollars).

By voting "No on 8," you can help put an end to this.

Change is painful. It took nearly a century for this country to abolish slavery, and another century for the Civil Rights Act to codify equality on the basis of race. It took until 1920 for women in this country to be able to vote, and another half-century for them to gain the legal protections of Equal Rights that has heralded their progress toward equality in the workplace and the world. In retrospect discrimination on the basis of race or gender seems repugnant to most all of us; I have enormous personal conviction that eventually we will have similar societal attitudes toward gays and lesbians.

With change comes fear of the unknown. Most all the arguments for Proposition 8 revolve upon fear of what will be taught in schools about gay marriage and how it will affect faith-based organizations. First of all, Prop. 8 says nothing about schools or religious institutions. It amends the constitution to say "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," and most legal scholars agree that it will eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.

To those who support Proposition 8 I have some questions: Have you so little faith in your sons and daughters that my marriage will some how corrupt their view of the world? Have you so little faith in our societal protection of religious freedom that my marriage will somehow affect how you practice your faiths and beliefs? Endorsing Proposition 8 sends the message that legislating discrimination and taking people's rights away is OK. Are these the values you wish to embrace and teach to your children?

It breaks my heart that some of my students, former students and colleagues support Proposition 8. I have committed my life to your education, given you counsel and consolation, written you letters, nominated you for prizes, given money to the causes you support and helped your children in times of difficulty. If you truly respect me as an individual, can't you support our government extending me the same rights that you would any of your straight colleagues? Why are you so threatened by the fact that I love my partner and want to build a life and a future with him?

But when it comes right down to it, don't vote against Proposition 8 for me. Do it for the children of gay and lesbian couples to let them know that their families are viewed with equal rights in the eyes of the law. Do it for your gay classmates and friends, to let them know that you don't see them as second-class citizens. Do it for your children so they understand that discrimination is wrong. Do it because you want to live in a country where indeed "All men [and women] are created equal."