The NEW Movement...by: Cyrus Gould

I’m sick and tired of retired weekend activists and white bearded anti-war extremists saying that young people are lazy and disconnected. “You should be out marching to protest the war,” they say. “Back when I was your age, I used to march ten miles per day to protest the war in Vietnam, and I did it barefoot, uphill booth ways!”
Things are changing in this nation, and on this planet. It may seem to the untrained eye that kids “now-a-days” are just sitting on there hands watching movies and surfing the web. This is simply not the case. The truth of the matter is that technology and new communication methods have changed the way burgeoning activists, and new school social justice workers operate.
To certain outdated uber-liberal-hippie-ish-baby-boomers, interacting in online communities may seem below the radar, it may even seem bourgeoisie, but for the herds of new young doers, it’s the fastest, cheapest, easiest way to share ideas, event info, music and strategies. Online organizing is constantly expanding the range of possibilities for effective political actions. And go figure, them youngins are hip to it.
Does this mean going door to door to talk with people about important issues is done and gone? Has the “phone-banking” of yesteryear been replaced by automated email blasts and robotic telephone messages delivered en mass via “celebrity de jour”? The obvious answer to both of these questions is no. online networking will never be as effective as a face to face, person to person contact.
What the internet can provide is a great way to get tons of people informed and involved. So really, it’s an additional tool in the arsenal of community organizers, helping facilitate the vital face to face work that happens on people’s front porch. That’s what I call hitting home.
Perhaps we should be taking to the streets with homemade signs instead of sitting glued to a lap-top organizing the next phone-bank. My gut tells me no. Personally, I’m ready to see some real change for the better. We can go march down the streets till we all have sun-burns and tired feet, but why not spend that time organizing an action that will get a great candidate into local office? This is the new “movement”. I’ll text you with the details….