Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012.
We’re about halfway through 2012 and one of the things I’m loving about this Blogversation project is the different voices and perspectives of the smart, articulate women who are participating.
We’re starting a third rotation of Blogversation questions this week. All the Blogversationists take turns posing a question, with members committed to answering each other’s questions, and we invite others to jump into the conversation, too.
Today Maria Stuart asks a timely, newsy question that’s unlike anything we’ve discussed so far. I love it when we push the boundaries of Blogversation. Maria’s blog is http://mariastuart.com, she’s @mariastuart on Twitter.
An editor’s note before Maria’s question: please keep it civil in the comments. Spirited debate and disagreement is welcomed, but name calling and disrespect is not and I will be quick with the moderation if anything gets nasty.
And now to Maria:
This is an election year.
As the daughter of a union organizer with a Michigan State Police “red” file, I’ve worked elections, walked picket lines, taken part in boycotts, circulated petitions and volunteered for political campaigns back in the day. The older I’ve become, though, the less politically active I am. I always vote, but I leave the heavy lifting to others. Part of becoming a political spectator from a political activist had to do with my career as a journalist and my job as a newspaper editor. But now that that phase of my life is over, I am thinking about becoming politically active again.
How important are organized politics in your life? Are you politically active? If you are, what moves you to activism? If you aren’t, why not?
Blogversation 2012: How important are organized politics in your life? Are you politically active?
4 Comments
Eleanor
This is an interesting topic for the ladies of Blogversation, because politics is an arena where women get really slammed, really targeted in a personal and vicious way when they participate in organized politics in a visible way. There is a whole history of women getting targeted for stepping outside of the domestic sphere. So, Maria, I applaud you for your courage to step out there.
Right now, I’m helping organize a project that gets artists more connected with and visible among folks in their own neighborhoods. In the process, I’ve forged connections with folks who are involved in local, organized politics. It makes me think on how I can get more involved in my community. I don’t know if I will go the route of organized politics, but it does have my wheels turning on how I could make more of a contribution to the public arena, esp. right where I live.
Colleen Newvine Tebeau
Like Maria, I’ve worked in and around the media my whole life so I’ve sort of accepted that part of my career choice is refraining from political participation.
But that doesn’t keep me from sitting on the sidelines, hoping and praying that our political leaders can find their way out of partisan bickering to make decisions in the best interest of the country.
The system seems stacked against them. I can only imagine working in a place where every decision was described as having only two possible points of view, where compromise was viewed as weakness, where listening to the other side and realizing they have a point is described as flip flopping. Add to that the need to posture to people outside the organization, who will only give you the money you need if you do what they like, not necessarily what’s right or what it takes to get the job done, and it sounds extraordinarily difficult.
Maybe I should be glad I’m refraining?
John T.
Organized politics are as important to me as organized religion: not at all. Used to be, but after a while I decided both parties are basically two sides of the same coin and the whole thing about “rooting for a party” is like following sports teams. And that fact that we get only two parties to choose from? That’s pathetic. That’s one more party than they had under Stalin. Easier for the elite to maintain control, sure, but an embarrassment for a so-called republic. In my humble opinion.
Stopped being politically active after Bush’s minions cheated to “win” Ohio in 2004. (I vowed to stop after the 2000 joke-election, but got sucked back in.) Haven’t voted since and never will again.
Gotta go with Bob Dylan on this one: “Don’t follow leaders, watch the parking meters.” Not sure about the second part, but following leaders is not my bag anymore. Those who seek power are the exact ones who should not be trusted with it. And power? It corrupts, nearly every time. I don’t like the odds, and getting worked up about it is bad for my heart, so I’d best quit now. But hey, thanks for listening.
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