Progressive Community Thriving in the Rockies
Progressive dialogue, along with café lattes, is becoming
more addictive in a number of Colorado communities. Close to one year ago, in the
midst of the activist atmosphere of political campaigns, electoral primaries,
and a continued anti-war presence, a new form of discussion group surfaced.
The Progressive Cafes, started in Boulder, Colorado,
consist of open discussion groups at public cafes. In addition to table-side
dialogue and community building among progressives, deliberate effort is made
to draw onlookers into the discussion.
Corresponding with the rise of other emerging public
discussion formats, such as the Conversation Cafes out of Seattle, or Let’s
Talk America, a project of the Utne Institute, this Colorado project does
not choose to focus on nurturing wide-spectrum dialogue amongst differing
interest groups. Instead, it specifically chooses to develop depth within the
progressive community. Presently, almost a dozen Progressive Cafes meet in and
near the Denver area, mostly on a weekly basis.
According to the promotional literature, ‘Progressive Cafes
are recommended for all progressive-minded folks, such as progressive Democrats,
Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, Independents, and other party supporters,
peace activists, and those who desire a sustainable planet and
representative government.’
Listening in on a café discussion, there’s less talk of criticizing government
policy, the horrors of war, and those nasty Bush folks in Washington. Instead,
what’s described is how we go about building an authentic, positive-focused progressive
social movement in this country, and extending it globally. Political strategy
and social action have their place, but as in past times of cultural
transformation, a social movement forms the backbone of those efforts.
So what’s an effective counter-move to the degradation of representative democracy in this country, and the widespread propaganda strategies of the conservative right? How about developing more deep dialogue and fostering better critical analysis? And from lessons learned from such contemporary pundits as George Lakoff, when we understand the commonality of progressive values, it’s easier to frame our social objectives.
Though progressive in spirit, the café meetings adhere to a politically non-partisan commitment. Greens and progressive Democrats easily discover common ground in their values. And it’s often described that publicly gathering for such discussion is, in and of itself, a political act. The agreed conventions at a venue include an interest and openness in including other interested patrons into the talk, limiting comments to two minutes per turn, dissuading “Us vs. Them” type of expression, and requesting participants to be co-facilitators in preventing “hogging or hijacking” of the meeting.
Where are these café affairs leading towards? In Colorado, they’ve led to the formation of a new non-profit educational organization, Colorado Progressives. The natural progression is to organize even more public forums in the advancement of pro-active solutions to a progressive future. Currently, it includes support for the building of new co-op retail businesses, community-owned public radio, promoting bio-diesel as alternative vehicle fuel, and participating in election system reform, to name a few. But ultimately, it begins with the everyday lifestyle and consumption choices we all make. And the encouragement for building the Progressive Social Movement with quality conversation and community support is right in line with those goals.
Progressive Cafes are now being planned in other states, including Massachusetts and California. Further information, including assistance in forming your own, is available at www.ColoradoProgressives.org.