Homespun PoliticsLISTEN TO "Homespun Politics" (24MB MP3) [Posted by Sarah Jane Rothenfluch on July 3, 2008] Katy Brooks was having a martini with a friend last January and the discussion turned to politics and polling. Katy was frustrated by polls claiming to know what was important to Americans. Many people would continue complaining and just order another martini. Katy decided to act. She has a full-time job and a family to care for, but in her free time this trained facilitator decided to host parties that she calls "Home Spun." She gathers people of all political bents together in coffee shops and living rooms and asks them three big questions. After the discussion she sends the information she gathered to politicians and political candidates. So far all she has received from the candidates in return is thank you emails asking for her to send to money. Katy's Home Spun parties are taking off. People who attend one, often head off to host their own. So on Monday we're going to go "Home Spun" right here on Think Out Loud. We're asking you the three questions that Katy asks here participants: 1. If you had twenty minutes with a presidential candidate, what would you talk to him about? 2. What keeps you up at night? 3. What works well in your community that could be a model for a national program? Join the party online right now with your answers to these questions... or, if you are a politician or work in a political office -- tell us what would it take for you to pay attention to "Home Spun" emails. GUEST: Katy Brooks: professional facilitator and the founder of Home Spun
#1) I would ask if he/she knows what actually happens to a baby during an abortion; if they said yes, I would ask them to describe it as proof and if they said no, I would describe it for them in as clinical a manner as possible. I would challenge them to see that caring for people starts at the beginning, not just when they can vote. I would challenge them to act on their knowledge in a manner that makes us a better nation, instead of encouraging the continued dehumanizing of mothers and children.
#2) Abortion. Not just what it does to the baby (it dies in a horrible manner), but the mother (when she finds out what she has actually done it will haunt her) and our society as a whole (how can we pretend to value life enough to try to help the poor or the homeless when we willingly support dehumanizing our most helpless members). #3) Providing ultrasounds for mothers in crisis pregnancies, many of our local crisis pregnancy centers do this. Mothers who can actually see the child have a better chance to realize that they are being lied to when they are told it is just a lump of flesh that can be treated like a tumor... without consequence.
1. If you had twenty minutes with a presidential candidate, what would you talk to him about?
- I would REALLY like to hear the candidates talk about what sort of changes they would make in the farm bill, especially in light of all the local food movement and Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal Vegetable Miracle" which I found utterly inspring. - I would like to hear if the candidates have any thoughts or plans on changing the electoral college, especially in light of what happened in 2000 with Bush and (though in a slightly different context) with the Obama/Clinton mess more recently. Should this kind of change be lead by the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch or the Judicial Branch? Now that Bush, who obviously had a vested interest, is out, what do they think about going to straight popular vote? Do they have any thoughts about the idea of changing terms so there is no "re-election"? Do they think it would make anyone less corrupt? - I would like to hear the candidates talk about VISA companies. As a small business owner, I am outraged that the card companies just raised prices $.17 per transaction. In this day and age, you can't get around accepting VISA/MC, but I think there should be some sort of regulation as these companies are getting money from both ends, especially in light of how in debt Americans are.
Hi gang~I’m filling in for David Miller this week.
Katy’s idea is one that most every active candidate would love to get in on. Today there's an article on The Wiki Way to the Nomination in today's New York Times, showing some ways a candidate can make voters feel they're part of the process. What do you make of this? When candidates come at you with open-ended questions, do you trust that will translate into policies you can support?
We have the duty to demand that candidates---and office holders---be really exceptional people who put the interests of the country and the future above their owners' personal power and fortune. Since Eisenhower, maybe Kennedy, we have had neither.
Our disengaged electorate has squandered its collective intelligence and has been led with a bovine ring in its nose to support some of the stupidest, most destructive policies in world history. Very few of our political office holders even make the pretense of serving at the level their offices require, and we are reaping the whirlwind. Sad state, so to speak.
I'm from Portland, thanks for the show. If I had 20 minutes with either candidate I would ask about whether or not they would work to rebalance the power relations between the three branches of government. For the past 20 years the power of the executive branch has been expanded, as a voter I think that is problematic. I would ask either if they had plans to attempt to repair that balance and if so what are those plans. I would also ask how each would handle reducing our "military footprint" in the world as our hegemonic position wanes. Thanks.
I'm from Portland, thanks for the show. If I had 20 minutes with either candidate I would ask if they had plans to rebalance the power relation between the 3 branches of government. There are indications that for the past 20 years the power of the executive branch has been expanded, as a voter I find that problematic. I would like to know if either has an intent to repair that balance and if so, how? I would also ask how either would work to reduce our "military footprint" in the world as US hegemony wanes. Thanks.
The political system has long since reached a point where it can only respond to a limited degree to the major concerns of the vast majority of Americans. How would and would the candidate be willing to commit to change the political system to reduce the influence of well funded special interest groups to ensure a signigicantly greater response to the needs of the vast majority of Americans. Such as increase energy efficiency in major areas of American life, plan for and fund critical infrastructure, adequate and affordable housing, secure borders, fair trade, enforcable and effective election rules which reduces the influence of money, etc.
Listening to the story about "Homespun" parties, it is now clear to me why the politicians are not paying any attention.
What she is doing is running focus groups, and doing it badly. A critical factor in measuring the views of the public is to get *representative* samples. She is just inviting whoever is in her social network, and this will ultimately be heavily biased towards her personal opinions.
Too often in life we fight the symptoms and not the disease.
Gas prices are the symptom, where as corporate control of our country is the disease. The war in Iraq is the symptom, where as the military industrial complex is the disease. I would like to see the candidates have a plan of attack for these cures, but sadly they will most likely offer OTC solutions.
Katy, your leadership training would be fairly vital to this type of discussion, because even these carefully selected topics could potentially break the bounds of civility. Preaching to the choir is a waste of time, so divergent philosophies would be desirable, but therein lies the danger to continuation of the group. Do you know of other groups who have been successful for more than one session?
I worry about the demise of the family farm. Local food is important to a healthy populace and a healthy economy. But the family farm gives us much more than locally grown meat, milk, grain and produce. It produces young people who are grounded in good work ethics, respect for the soil AND the community.
So, I found a writer who would probably fit right in at one of Katy's Home Spun parties: James Surowiecki. A few years ago, he cranked out a much-discussed book called the Wisdom of Crowds, exploring the usefulness of aggregate-based decision making. Can't turn around on economics blogs without finding references to this guy!
Here's a nice summary of his theories from an ed-tech conference late last month. (...and if you've got time, wonk with me: this Wiki spools out Surowiecki's theories in greater detail.)
Just one more, I can't resist!
There's a nice blog project down at KPBS in San Diego that touched on this in a discussion of same-sex marriage. Are you ready to bare your political soul in an up-close setting, like Katy's Home Spun format? Yikes!!! Things could get squishy -- are there truths rooted down with your politics that you would NOT feel comfortable sharing in a room full of people?
Hi...listening and missed getting in to answer the last question...but here's what keeps me up at night. The erosion of truth-saying and therefore the erosion of my trust in anything told to me by 'my government'. Or I should say the government of my country...which just doesn't feel like MY country. With the news just full of the breaking down of people's lives due to decisions based on lies and greed, I feel hard pressed to know what to base my thinking on, with regard to issues that politicians or government put before me.
~Marian
Whether people share a given detail or not is up to them, and of course it would depend on the particular room full of people! But the political correctness movement since the late '60s has suppressed far too much open exchange of ideas. At the same time, people seem more inclined to say how they feel emotionally, about a given idea than to actually think about it---hopefully beyond today's selfish interest---and express that.
I think functional democracy requires such analytical thought, and perhaps online discussions like this one are the seed crystal for much greater participatory government.
Hello,
I am a mother of a 5 month old daughter. What keeps me up at night is the thought that what we have done, or failed to do in caring for our environment will negatively affect her future. Will there be sea life? Will there be wild life? How will climate change affect our world? How will this affect us globally in the years to come. Drilling off the shores of Alaska may provide a temporary band aid, but will not be a long term fix, and may come at a cost of increasing the amount of damage on our precious environment.
These are good ideas but they are inherently liberal and only apply to about half the nation. Remember, Conservatives spend their time trying to prevent government from working, they are anti-government. Conservatives deregulate agencies, defund agencies, load the courts to prevent rulings that could make government agencies work, and other things like that.
Bush, very conservative, keeps saying that he doesn't listen to polls, which is a way of saying that he will not listen to your ideas no matter how you come up with them, that is the conservative way. They don't want your ideas, they want to rule their way and to hell with you. That's the problem that needs brainstorming for ideas. How can you change a conservative?
I'm an associate professor of psychology at Lewis & Clark College, and I'm trained to measure people's attitudes and feelings. Your guest's questions are wonderful focus group questions...they catalyze discussion that you don't get from surveys. Focus groups are a wonderful way of getting at the range of thoughts and feelings that people have, and they are a wonderful way of discovering HOW people talk about issues...the language they use to discuss issues.
What neither surveys or focus groups necessarily do well, however, is get at what people are willing to sacrifice, what they are actually willing to do to effect some change. That's what keeps me up a night worrying. When groups make decisions, what often happens is an aggregation of individual demands. Groups boil down what a bunch of individuals and small groups want. But we have to remember, it's important to think not about what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. How do we make people stand up annd act, take responsibility, and sacrifice to effect change? From are unwillingness to pay more at the pump to the hiding of the costs of the war in Iraq, we're not willing to sacrifice for what'll be good for our community and country.
What keeps me up at night?
Bills. My husband and I are firmly middle-class earners, and we have no excessive credit, or even car payments, yet somehow we are still beyond our means. We live modestly with very little 'selfish' spending. We 'own' a small home. Fuel and increased grocery costs are making things much tighter than they already are; and we are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. We've even considered stopping the funds going into our 401Ks and health plans to make things a bit easier. At our age, we shouldn't be asking our parents for help. At our age, we should be able to start saving a little bit, but it's just not happening. We don't have children. I do lie awake at night fretting how we're going to make our next mortgage payment; and wondering which Peter to rob this month to pay that looming Paul. It's what we bicker over the most. It's one of my primary sources of stress.
1. I would tell them that they need to support ideas & policies that benefit the moral majority and not the top 5-10%. The last 8 years have done nothing for the average working folks. The War, economy, Taxes, health care, etc.. are all things that effect the majority. I believe that the reason these things aren't being address is "Greed". No one wants to give up their goose (who is laying their golden egg) even it is not morally correct. If everyone gave up just a little, the world would be a better place. There is only one candidate who is talking about these concepts and that is Barack Obama.
2. The fact that our ecomomy is so close to a total collapse. I see business's closing every day that have been around for 30+ years and all of a sudden they can't make it. If things continue to get worse our economy could break down and that is scary. 3. Any time people come together for a common purpose and share their stories and concerns works well. It doesn't happen enough. Home Spun is a good attempt. Thank you!
I think the one thing I most fear about the United States is the fact that jobs are heading overseas and we continue to important people. This is causing a shortage of jobs. There is a trickle down affect. For example - 1out 10 americans are either in jail, prison, on probation, or have a felony. Many of these people when released can't get work, they can't get a place to live, so the question becomes what can we do with them?
Nobody wants to answer that question. We are brought up that criminals are bad therefore that is the end of discussion, maybe the reason we see a rise in crime and prisons is because of this seperation. Kay Pranis wrote and excellent book entitled "from crime to community, peace circles". There are a few agencies that help, in Portland for example http://www.betterpeople.org. I'm personally attemping to start my own that will work in Oregon and Washington called worksourcefelons.org. Since it appears we won't be able to change the discrimination for those applying for jobs, I have came up with the next best thing.. See attached.. Here is the letter I sent to the Governor:
Thank you again for hosting a Home Spun on your program. Really enjoyed the conversation, and listening to your caller's thoughts. In keeping with the Home Spun idea, I'll send an email to the national and local campaign offices, with a link to your pod cast. I hope more folks hold their own Home Spun events - for both national and local issues.
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07/06/2008 10:05:00 AM
