Political Chatter at Boulderfest yesterday
So, the fam went to Boulderfest yesterday. We couldn’t stay long, but we’d heard that Skippy (from Skippy’s Veg-out that closed temporarily earlier this year) had a stand there, with her famous Buffalo Tempeh (mmm…Buffalo Tempeh…), so we headed over to grab some lunch. It was nice to see something like that happening in the area (the northern part of the South Wedge), and we were amazed that they were able to sandwich at least a dozen vendor tents and 2 music stages into the area behind Boulder Coffee. There was even enough space between the stages that the bands only overlapped acoustically when you were halfway between them.
It sounded like, for a first-ever festival, they were doing alright, with about 500 people showing up Saturday despite the crappy weather, and a lot more showing up Sunday. It was a diverse and eclectic mix of folks, one thing I love about city life.
We saw some old friends we hadn’t seen in a while, and after catching up, talk turned to politics. At this point in my life, politics is what you get when you want to know what’s been going on with me. I mentioned that I am deeply involved in supporting progressive movements and candidates, and one of my friends asked, “So, what IS progressive, anyway? I keep hearing progressive this, progressive that, and nobody ever explains it.” I didn’t have a pat answer, so I said this: “To me, progressive means, do you make decisions based on how it will affect 7 generations down the line, vs. how it affects the next quarter? Do you support small/local business, vs. large corporations? Do you support sustainable energy vs. giving more money to mid-east dictatorships? Do you support clean water/air/earth or growth & industry at all costs?”
They said that helped clarify it for them, and then another friend asked, “So…how do you “support” progressives? Are you doing it through…I dunno, the Green party?” I had to think a moment. I’m so used to answering questions from conservatives, I wasn’t prepared for a question out of left field (literally). I said something about how I’m doing it through the Democratic party right now, that I love Greens and everything they stand for, but we’re not yet set up for a parlimentary democracy yet, so I’m working for change from within the system.
As I talked it over with my wife after, an analogy came to mind. Basically, we’ve got 2 big ships in a tug of war for the country. The extreme right wing (currently in control of the Republican party) has this big ol’ battleship that has all the latest engines and crap, and it’s pulling us over the falls at the end of the lake. The Dems have a still powerful but crappier version of that big boat, and some folks at the helm keep wanting to help pull us over the falls. The Greens have this tiny inflatable Greenpeace-like boat with an Evinrude 75 hp engine on the back, and they’re trying desperately to pull us to the safe, clean part of the lake. My goal is to help get folks on the Dem boat to pull more in the direction of the Greens than the extreme right wing. And along the way open debates to 3rd parties, make it easier to get them on the ballot, and support Instant Runoff Voting.
Progressives– Green, Dem, or Working Families, are playing catch-up, infrastructure-wise these days, and I want to use every advantage we can to avoid going over those falls. How can we all work together?
Anyway, on the way out of the fest, we stopped into Boulder Coffee itself, and got yummy soy mochas, while we chatted with the staff– business is going well, how do you like the fake wall where the car crashed into us? “What’s up with that?” I asked, “If you’re going to drink and drive, at least try not to crash into cool coffeeshops.” They laughed and said “Yeah, it was some drunk kid from the suburbs.” I shuffled nervously. “Uh…yeah…what’s up with those crazy people from the suburbs? Oops, gotta go!”
(Cozy picture of Boulder Coffee Co. (cc)2005 John Lam )
Related posts:
You answered the questions about being a progressive well.
Thanks. I’m glad steeping myself in the blogosphere for the last 2+ years has done some good.