addressed elsewhere<\/a>. The problem of interested citizens wanting to learn more about politics but not finding a comfortable path to politics creates a significant problem in a democracy. The problem of friendly individuals not connecting with progressive politics is a tremendous loss for both these individuals and the progressive movement.<\/p>\nIn so many ways, progressive politics involve the same degree of nastiness as the conservative movement does. Does Chris Matthews treat you with any more dignity than Bill O\u2019Reilly? Does a solicitation from a Democrat include any less invective than that of a Republican? Perhaps so, but if so, not by much.<\/p>\n
Politics is the means by which we try to build a consensus within the country. This common ground should reflect an amalgam of the beliefs of all Americans who participate in the process. One thing that we can learn from the medical technician is that the world of politics is not a very welcoming place for many who are nice, empathetic and caring. Yes, there are many nice and caring people who participate in politics and by and large are progressives. But many of the can be \u201cin your face,\u201d at least when it comes to written communication. The progressive movement can benefit from focusing on what\u2019s most valuable in politics \u2013 votes. The idea is for kind people to want to engage in politics \u2013 at least to the extent of voting. We don\u2019t want to turn them off by asking for things that they have no interest in giving.<\/p>\n
So here are some suggestions for doing a better job of connecting kindness to progressive politics. You\u2019ll note that many of the ideas are of the do not<\/b> variety:<\/p>\n\n- Progressives could create thousands of meet-up type groups around the country which are primarily designed to make politics more welcoming. They need not be exclusive to progressives but they should be limited to people who prefer environments that are low-keyed and constructive.<\/li>\n
- If someone does not want to make a political contribution to a candidate or an interest group, don\u2019t ask them. If the person first wants to learn more about politics, let him or her be able to state right off the bat that he or she doesn\u2019t want to be solicited for money.<\/li>\n
- If an individual says that he or she does not have time to engage in the \u201cgrunt work\u201d of politics, let that person be. You can be a terrific person and still be someone who does not like to knock on doors or stuff envelopes.<\/li>\n
- If an individual does not like being pounded with e-mails from numerous progressive candidates and organizations, honor that person\u2019s request to \u201cchill and stop sending unwanted e-mails.\u201d<\/li>\n
- Do not foist upon voters negative campaigning. Comparing records in an objective manner is fair but lambasting an opponent does not work for an individual with a kind disposition.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
My requests are quite selfish; I much prefer thoughtful politics focused on issues rather than being constantly asked to join a bandwagon. If we would turn off the harsh noise of our \u201csolicitation on steroids,\u201d we would go a long way in encouraging kind people to engage in politics, most particularly by voting progressive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Not too long ago I was having an out-patient medical procedure. The technician was extremely nice and I thanked her for it because it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[767,162,1575,273,1949,16,573],"tags":[1212,2106,221],"yoast_head":"\n
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