INSPIRE
Flash!: The first county in Texas adopted the Democratic Creed. Congratulations to Lamar County Dems (TX) and welcome to the community!
Alpena County Dems (MI) also adopted the Creed and became the 5th county to do so in Michigan. Bravo!
Over 30 entities have now adopted the Democratic Creed. When your group joins the movement, please let us know by sending an email to: info@dems101.org
Inspire
“Inspire” is the word we’re missing. It’s the emotion we’re missing, as Democrats, as Americans who care about guiding this nation towards a future as a truly just society. If we’re not inspired towards our ultimate goal, if we don’t see it clearly, how will we get there?
MAGA inspires. Trump inspires. They inspire a sense of emotional identity, of enduring passion, something far deeper and far stronger than politics. Why don’t we inspire? Forget the next election campaign and the latest issue, why doesn’t the Democratic Party itself inspire? Why doesn’t who we are as a party cause Democrats to stand up with pride all over this country, sweeping independents and unaffiliated with them?
This isn’t about messaging or tactics, or polling, or the latest election results. It isn’t even about being right. This is about who we are and what we stand for, our identity, that alone inspiring. Because if we don’t inspire, how are we ever going to fundamentally change things? How are we ever going to get beyond the onslaught of Republican lies that have left us with ugly labels we can’t seem to shake, and an endless quest to just get to 51%?
We have a long history of leaders inspiring. FDR inspired. He not only inspired, he created the emotional impetus for our party itself. JFK inspired. Obama inspired, and he has left a lot of us crossing our fingers and hoping that another Obama will show up soon.
But we can’t wait for another Obama. Times have changed. This nation .. our nation .. is in the grips of a social, economic, and cultural revolution that has turned politics on its head. This struggle is no longer actually about politics at all, it’s about the social norms of this country, it’s about the basic values and concepts of how we look at ourselves as Americans. It’s about which set of values will prevail.
“We’re at war. This is a political war, a cultural war, and it’s a spiritual war.” (1)
A Republican said that, and it rolled off his lips because the Republicans understand this new reality perfectly. It’s how they’ve taken a true minority party, one that should be permanently stuck at 35%, and turned it into control of Congress and a perpetual shot at the Presidency .. even while headed by someone who is morally despicable. We Democrats talk about this being a cultural war, a “fight for democracy”, but we don’t act like it. We treat this very real war as messaging, as something we can fix with words and more money and extra effort, business as usual.
We need to wake up. We can no longer wait for another leader to come along and inspire us. If we want to seize the very pivotal moment this country finds itself in, if we want to ensure that our core values emerge as America’s, then we have to say what those values are. We have to hold them up publicly, then repeat them long and hard enough that they become our identity in the eyes of every American, friend and foe alike. We have to keep doing it until we are seen viscerally as the party of making the future work for everyone. Creating a Democratic identity doesn’t call for an inspirational leader, it calls for an inspirational party.
It’s our turn. It’s time for us .. the Democratic Party itself .. to inspire. That means everyone: the state parties, the counties, Indivisible .. every single one of us. We need to inspire. Of course we have to win elections. Of course we have to fight for women’s reproductive rights, and an end to gerrymandering, and all the rest. But to really do that, to effect true change, we need a supermajority. And to do that, we need to rise above politics. We need to inspire.
Most people don’t follow politics. And most of those folks look at politics as “a pox on both their houses.” And that includes a growing number of Democratic voters. This is what has to change, and the answer isn’t better messaging. The answer is giving them something true to believe in. Real change means establishing something permanent in their subconscious that nudges them into that voting booth with the inclination to mark the “D”, and to go on doing it for the next twenty years. These voters need to be inspired. We all do.
That is why the Democratic Creed exists, because it has to, because the times demand it. And that’s why you and your organization need to stand up and adopt it, and do so publicly. Adopt it, then make it part of everything you do, the starting point for messaging and candidates and everything else. Because, as Democrats, we are what we believe. We are our basic values. That’s why we got into this in the first place, to fundamentally change our community, our state, and our nation, to make them all a better place to live. That starts with our identity, and our identity starts with you.
J.M. Purvis, author and founder of Democrats 101
(1) Andy Ogles, primary election victory speech, August 2022
Volunteers needed
More counties around the country are interested in joining the movement and adopting the Democratic Creed. We are looking for volunteers to help:
do research
communicate with potential adoptees
follow-up with members
support social media activities
You need a computer and a passion for what we are trying to do. If you are interested, please send us an email at info@dems101.org.
Would love to help but do not have the time? You can support in another way by donating to us. No amount is too small or too big.
Democrats 101 is a non-profit organization 501 (c)(4). We are not a PAC.
