Strengthening Michigan's Progressive/Liberal Community

All the meet-ups that are going on throughout the state both this month and last are a good sign of our growth and development. It gives this liberal hope that our elected officials understand how important it is for our entire community to connect with each other.

All the responsibility for this state-wide connectivity does not and should not rest solely on our leaders shoulders. After all, one could argue that they are only doing what we, the constituents ask of them.

Cordelia Lear always reminds us of Alice Paul's famous saying - Democracy begins at home. It's so easy for us to shrug off the responsibility of our civic duty and pass that proverbial buck, but that wouldn't constitute what we all like to believe that we are, good citizens.

With the Information Age well upon us, and the Internet quickly becoming the place where we literally do almost everything, it does seem fitting that we get back to basics. Start with where you live and who and what you know.

I recently started up the Lansing chapter of Drinking Liberally. Our chapter here brings the state-wide count to three, joining Ann Arbor and Oakland County.

But what about the rest of the state?

Drinking Liberally is a great organization, a great way to meet other local liberals/progressives, and an organization with a very simple mantra

Bars are democratic spaces - you talk to strangers, you share booths, you feel the bond of common ground. Bring democratic discourse to your local democratic space - build democracy one drink at a time.

A group like Drinking Liberally could easily make it's way into any city/town/village here in Michigan. From Muskegon to Clare to Homer to Trenton and Bessemer, there's no such place as a bad spot for a group like Drinking Liberally. There's no membership requirement, fee, or application process. Just a couple like-minded people getting together together to talk about politics.

Some of the best ideas have been scribbled down on cocktail napkins, and formulated on a bar stool. Sharing ideas and promoting democracy doesn't have to be done just in the voting booth.

While we start lay the ground work for '08, what can you do? Drinking Liberally may not be for everyone, but it certainly is a different and interesting way of connecting with liberals and progressives in your area that might not normally be reached. Consider starting a chapter in your area, or joining another local progressive group.

Democracy starts at home, and whether its the kitchen table or the booth at the local pub, it's up to you. Promoting and sharing democracy is a civic responsibility that we all must lay claim too. After all, it's our state, we need to make it work for us.