Talk is Cheap and I Need Your Help

When I started to work on the 8th Street project, one of my main goals was to have an impact in the 2006 elections in PA. But, things have (predictably) taken much longer than I had hoped, and I started to worry that I wasn’t going to be able to do anything to influence this extraordinarily important election (Operation Iranian Freedom, anyone?).

This worry turned to downright despair as I waited, and waited for some group or another to do a big push amongst the “millennials”, a.k.a. the under-30 set, for this election. After all, the future of our nation is at stake and our generation is slipping further and further behind in our quest for the American Dream (which has now apparently been revised to- “Well, maybe I can actually get and education. And when I graduate with massive debt, maybe I can find a job that can pay me enough to pay for my school debt- what should me called the millennial mortgage. Then, if I’m really lucky, maybe I can get health care and not go bankrupt by the age of 35). But as of last month, no groups had stepped forward to take on this monumental task, and I started to believe that we were doomed to fail.

Well, a few weeks ago I noticed that a group headed by someone I know was hiring in PA. The group this person heads is trying to turn out “new and infrequent” voters in Philly, and they were looking for some field staff. I asked to meet with them, listened to what they were trying to do, and then proposed what I though I could do to best ensure that we are not doomed to 6 more years of Man-On-Dog, Forrest Gump with an attitude, Bush’s favorite rubber stamp, or whatever you want to call that sorry excuse for a human being.

Basically, my idea was to start the political side of 8th Street, even though we still lack a home, meaning we will do outreach and registration at all of R5 Productions shows between Friday and election day. But, we will also be doing a lot of outreach on campuses, at coffee shops, and anywhere else where young people congregate. I also hope to have a few events before October 5th (the registration deadline) to try and get as many kids registered as possible.

My hope is that we can both make an impact and prove some of the concepts that have been written about in my thesis and on this site. But- it is going to be one hell of a job. Almost all of the groups who did work in Philly during last years’ election are either MIA or actively strip-mining the grassroots, as Greg put it. Many kids have already been registered, and many will only need to be reminded that an election is coming up and told where they should vote to increase turnout. But, either way, making an impact on the election is going to be a daunting task, one that I am looking forward to taking on.

Of course, I can use a lot of help. If you can volunteer or donate (time, money, skills) please let me know. If you know researchers looking to study the efficacy of various strategies, let me know. If you know any bands or famous people who can draw crowds of young people, and who hate the direction our nation has gone, let me know.

For a list of shows you can volunteer at check out R5 Production's show page. I'll have a volunteer page up shortly, but for now if you see any that you like, please e-mail me using the Future Majority contact page.

The election is only a few months away, and I am finally getting back to the work that I love. But- we all need to pull together to pull out a victory, no matter what the polling might say.

Whose ready to help make some shit happen?