How 10 people created change in their neighborhood by Julio A Sanchez
It is not enough to talk about how upset we are by the direction the country is going. Our actions need to support our beliefs, and I believe we have to come together and work on meaningful steps to fix what we perceive to be wrong.
Last week an estimated 20,000 people did just that. Those concerned with the state of our Nation decided to come together in 1,500 house meetings sponsored by Move ON.
A total of 10 people came to the meeting I attended. We where a diverse group: white, Asian, Latino, men, women, gay, straight, working professionals, retired and underemployed.
I was one of those people. We all expressed it a little different, but we where there because we believed in the need to rebuild the American Dream, a dream based on fairness, not on attacks to the poor and middle class while the rich get tax loopholes for jets and capital gains. A dream whose final goal is equality and good jobs, not dissension and privilege.
During the meeting we shared personal stories about how the recession has affected us and our families and reminded ourselves moments when we have been proud of our country or our communities. Next we voted on a number of ideas to rebuild the American Dream that have been gathered by means of public contribution. Out of these ideas, those chosen will be moved forward as the cornerstones of a campaign to rebuild the dream.
At the end we left with a meaningful commitment to take a specific step to engage others in this process. My commitment was to talk to 5 other people about the Summer Leadership Conference and the Progressive Speak Out, a community event 700 people attended.
If you host your own meeting, the mechanics are rather simple: dedicate about two hours, tell friends to come by, it can be a potluck! Set an agenda with time for introductions and then get to work.
Would you like to organize your own house meeting? Click here: http://action.workingwa.org/page/s/houseparty
Do you want to vote on the ideas to rebuild the American Dream? Click here: http://contract.rebuildthedream.com/