I went to the annoucement ceremony for the new face of the organization formerly known as “Dean for America”. I had read that it was supposed to be called “Democracy Freedom Action”. I’m glad it is instead titled “Democracy for America”.
I showed up 15 minutes early, which was late enough that I did not get a seat. In fact, I just barely got up to the front of the people standing. Thus, I had as good a view as anyone there (nobody had a good view during the standing ovations). I like the vision he articulated, not that it’s news to anyone who knew his policy positions in the presidential campaign. He also talks much more about grass roots activism and guiding people into roles in which they can make a difference. Sadly, I think execution is lagging behind in that regard.
He talked about “Dean Corps”. Some notion of a community service group. Which is great, though I hope I am mis-remembering about his name being a prominent part of it.
There were definitely members of the cult of dean. And I got a sense that a pretty significant subset of the crowd agreed with the sentiment “I believe in everything you stand for, and support you fully, so long as I don’t actually have to exert effort.” A mindset that I admit I can empathize with, but find less than productive.
I was disappointed by the bid for candidacy, not so much the withdrawal from active campaigning (that was more an acknowledgment of reality), but the way I heard what I wanted to hear, and fell for the echo chamber effect. I’d like to be involved in the organization and extending its message to a broader audience. It seems to match my professional goals (particularly increasing the involvement in a public dialogue, increasing community engagement, etc, etc) to a T. Well, I’m not sure about the ‘getting paid’ part, but we shall see.