Where do I begin?

by Alex Steed

Published November 05, 2008 @ 11:53AM PT

Here and there:

As I mentioned yesterday, Luke Russert, as a part of his election coverage on CNN, made reference to the Millennial Generation. He explained that a friend of his had texted him a message that read "It's our turn," referring to Barack Obama's presidency as one that reflects the values of the generation.
Until going back and forth with my mother in the past months of this election, it hadn't really struck me how strong the impact of growing up without the influence Cold War media really has been. Using "socialism" and "redistribution of wealth" as political trash talk is more-or-less meaningless to the people I've met along the way (except for, no joke, the 80-something Aryan Brotherhood sympathizer we met in North Dakota). In addition to running with a woman who generally insults urban areas, intellect, and young people, this is a great way to ostracize the youth even further.
I talked with the staff of Focus the Nation while we were in Portland. While their name makes them sound sort of like a pro-white-power watchdog group, but they're actually a super-awesome climate action league (of sorts). They were, hands down, some of the smartest, most driven, most inspiring young people I have met yet. They sat with me for over an hour, talked about the organization, and then went on to discuss where they feel as though we're all coming from as a generation. I'll be posting about them on NetSquared this afternoon.

Share this Post

Comments (2)

Yeah. What the hell is up with that "socialism is evil" moxy? I really can't get excited about it because, well, we need a little socialism over here. It seems so obvious looking at Ireland, France, and others that they have a much healthier balance of gov't backed social programs and business. Who cares what it's called, we have no health insurance.

Posted by Alex Herder on 11/05/2008 @ 01:09PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Alex
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I am very pleased with the thought and don't feel like adding
anything in it. It a perfect answer.
Barbara Brown
Drug Intervention Washington

Posted by Drug Intervention Washington Brown on 04/07/2009 @ 07:26AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Drug Intervention Washington
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Alex is a freelance journalist, activist, and online community management consultant based in Boston and Portland, Maine. He currently serves as executive editor of MakeSomethingHappen.net, where he writes about online organizing and the power of collective action.