Kurt and Sam meet with Drew Westen
An unprecedented gathering aims to change the way we tell our stories of social change and achievement. Recent college grad Sam Holman and GuentherMedia founder Kurt Guenther reflect on the experience.
I recently spent 3 days at a retreat with some of the best and brightest from the progressive movement in Washington as well national leaders. Being 22, I was by far the youngest person there (I photographed the event for free so I could get in.) Because I was the only person there in my early 20′s, I spent a lot of time thinking about our generation’s place in this country and how we got here.
The retreat was an incredibly energizing experience that was rich with creative and brilliant ideas. All of the great conversation was geared towards creating a new narrative for promoting the progressive movement and there were so many inspiring people and ideas that there are hundreds of things to write about. From all that, there are two ideas that stood out to me as a newcomer to this world, and both of them came from Van Jones.
One of Van’s opening lines was a great window into the rest of his speech and my experience at the retreat. “I am not here for the future of the progressive movement, I am here for the future of America.” This idea, that patriotism has a home in the liberal, progressive world, is something that has been so far removed from my concept of the movement and my own beliefs. The conservatives have done such a good job at linking patriotism to their ideas, that we have basically relinquished ownership of it. In fact, patriotism is almost a dirty word to many like-minded people of my generation.
When I think about the American flag, I used to run to images of flag waiving confederates, war, and Sarah Palin’s tour bus. After hearing Van speak, I know it represents so much more. I am in that flag, and that flag is in me. I may not like many of the things that the right wing has worked so hard to embed into the flag, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love my country, and it doesn’t mean I won’t fight for it and its people.
Van’s speech gave me the ability to feel like a patriot, and not have to give that ground up in progressive circles. It is time for the progressive movement to let patriotism into its core, because, as Van said, “You cannot lead a country without loving it first.”
Now, all this being said, loving this country doesn’t mean loving everything it does, and it definitely doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight for the America we want in the future. I did not leave this retreat with a feeling of acceptance for the issues we are facing, but I did leave with a great deal of hope and enthusiasm for future we can create. Again, I can thank Van Jones a great deal for this.
I was in need of a brief history lesson in our government’s successes. Van, in a way few can, reminded us that every politician that is credited with progressive and needed change, (civil rights, environmental protection, labor unions,) was following a movement, not leading it. Every president that signed a groundbreaking new act into our history did so because a movement made it possible. This is an empowering thought, but it’s also so much more. It puts the citizen firmly in the political process, demonstrating that the U.S. government is actually for, of, and by the people. That is not a thought that my generation has seen much evidence of. Again, our government has chains wrapped around its feet these days, from all those villains we hear so much about (greedy corporations, freeloading banks, etc.)
What I took away from this retreat is that the American people know that these things are the enemy of a growing middle class and the country as a whole. They know that they don’t like corporate money controlling their elected representatives. Drew Westen, a leading cognitive scientist and linguist, was also in attendance. His research has shown that our country agrees with these ideas, that no one likes the control that big money has over Washington D.C. What they don’t know is that we can remove these shackles; we can unbind the legs that have constrained our country from helping its people.
Could Van Jones have convinced me to buy a broken toaster-oven? Probably. Nonetheless, after sitting with these ideas for a couple days, they haven’t lost any of their validity. I think selling patriotism and the importance of government to the millennial generation is among the more important steps we can take, even though it is in many ways an uphill battle. First, we need to realize that our government is more than Capitol Hill bickering. When I think of government, I don’t think of the entity that keeps our planes from falling out of the sky, keeps me from getting food poisoning, or fixes my roads. They are doing some things right, and we need to recognize that.
My generation has the image of two parties trying to handcuff each other in an attempt to hold power. Not a very positive image, but it’s also not the whole story. The whole story is that we live in a great country that needs us to fight for it. Loving your country can be as simple as loving the people in it, and I think we can all agree that it is people that we are really fighting for. My generations’ place in this world is beginning to be defined. This movement can be the change that our country needs so that it may be everything we expect.
– Sam
Elle Andrews, Social Innovator
If you’re on this website, you’re likely a fellow social entrepreneur working to improve the common good. Problem is, us “progressives” often do a lousy job of inspiring folks to join us.
This summer, we’ve had an opportunity to help change all that. Working with Ella Andrews, a local innovator in social change, and with the funding group, Washington Progress Alliance, we’ve been looking at ways to rewrite the rules on communicating our common hopes, dreams and vision of the future.
The highlight of this work has been a three-day, intensive “mind meld” at the Talaris Institute this month, with national and local leaders in communicating change, from pollster Lisa Grove to Van Jones to author Drew Westen and more.
Unlike a lot of retreats, this was no summer camp for adults. One intensive session after another helped people look at a new way to frame their issues and messages. People actually grappled with how to identify the villains tearing at this nation’s fabric – the liars, parasites and people who rig the system, from Wall Street to the local community.
“Take your balls out of your purse” was one of the more memorable lines that came from these sessions – challenging one another to set aside the fuzziness of much progressive storytelling and be clear about who is standing up for all us and who is working against us.
I couldn’t be more overjoyed at a room of smart folks agreeing it’s time to do more of this. At GuentherMedia, and before at GMMB, we’ve been driven by our belief in the intelligence and willingness of the American people to do great things together. Especially when we communicate more about “us” than “me”, about accountability, personal responsibility and the legacy we’re building for the future. When we refuse to give up the American flag and patriotism to the right wing.
The work by Ella, the Alliance and the 50 minds they brought together has already been embraced quickly by national folks.
One more hopeful thing about those days at Talaris: Seeing Sam Holman and Riley Gibson, two 20somethings at GuentherMedia, interact with seasoned minds. Sam and Riley were the only 20somethings there. If we want progressive efforts to become more successful, 20somethings will need to be at the head table. Their world, their tools and their perspective are so profoundly different. Their collaboration in creating a decent future is essential.
– Kurt
f the hero’s journey is incredibly powerful, and is a great tool for anyone with a cause to promote. The mistake Russell made was in the implementation. Kony 2012 gripped you because it told a complete story. There was a clear quest (arrest Kony), threat (continued child abduction and other inhumane acts), villain (Joseph Kony), heroes (Invisible children and us, the internet community), heroes’ tools (social media, the U.S government, and the Ugandan military), and villains’ weapons (violence and fear). Each one is clear and anyone watching the film would come away with something very close to these same answers.
The backlash came from a number of places. First, their quest does not defeat the threat they identify. The arrest of Kony will help, but by no means will it end a long-standing history of violent and inhumane behavior. For one, the Ugandan military has been accused of the same crimes used to villainize Kony. That brings us to their second misstep. Our hero’s tools cannot be questionably bad. By using tools that could be considered as objectionable as the villain, our narrative loses an amazing amount of credibility.
