stand up and testify!
She urged volunteers to hone their own stories of how they came to Obama – something they could compress into 30 seconds on the phone.
“Work on that, refine that, say it in the mirror,” she said. “Get it down.”
She told the volunteers that potential voters would no doubt confront them with policy questions. Mack’s direction: Don’t go there. Refer them to Obama’s Web site, which includes enough material to sate any wonk.
The idea behind the personal narratives is to reclaim “values” politics from the Republican Party…
Bullshiite. That’s not Values—that’s charisma. And salesmanship.
Marshall Ganz, a one-time labor organizer for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers who developed “Camp Obama” [*eye roll*] training sessions for volunteers.
When people tell their stories of how they made choices and what motivates them, they communicate their values, Ganz said in an interview.
“Values are not just concepts, they’re feelings,” Ganz said. “That’s what dropped out of Democratic politics sometime in the ‘70s or ‘80s.”
No, Dearie. Values are concepts. Ideas. Ideals.
Feelings are just that—feeeeelings. They are by-products of perceptions which mix with Values to become thoughts which are then translatable into actions. That’s what makes things run.
Actions based on feeeelings alone are just blind flailing.
Which, granted, can be powerful. Powerfully destructive as well as accidentally constructive.
Not so efficient, ya see.
“That’s what dropped out of Democratic politics sometime in the ‘70s or ‘80s.”
No, that’s what you’ve been drowning in since the late ‘60’s. And you’re using them as claws to grab onto others to try to keep yourselves afloat.
Like this one:
Libbie Coleman, a 61-year-old microbiology teacher at McClatchy High School, read Obama’s books last spring.
...As a teacher, Coleman is accustomed to talking to people face to face. But cold calls to strangers were a stretch. For one thing, she doesn’t like getting such calls herself. For another, she considers herself a “pleaser” and doesn’t like making people mad.
...Her role as a neighborhood team leader has absorbed whatever free time she had.
“So I’m cutting a few corners, like not writing as many comments on the papers I grade, ...”
and this one:
...one woman who volunteered despite a social phobia.
“She comes and supports us at the phone banks, even if she’s not going to make as many calls,"…
The lure of emotional fulfillment—empty of substance as his speeches.
...Statewide, 3,527 people trained as precinct captains… Working as a precinct captain is “easy,” according to one of several campaign Web sites.
“Just follow Barack’s lead and be honest with them,” the Web site advises. “You don’t need to debate policy or discuss the day’s headlines. You have a very personal reason for investing your time and energy in this campaign – that is the most compelling story you can tell.”
Like a religion.
If “the personal is political” the political has every right to inform, shape, direct, run the personal.
No thanks.
Claire, Ideologically Stubborn Heatist Ruralite 02/08 at 08:37 PM •
(14) Say it, don't spray it... • (0) pings • *link*
