Category Archives: Democracy

Vermonters to Inauguration

Posted on Monday, January 26, 2009 by No comments yet

President Obama’s inauguration was incredible… inspirational.  Here are a couple of TV news stories from WPTZ (on the way to DC and upon our return)…

[grr… can’t get the video to load here or onto YouTube… hopefully WPTZ will keep them accessible on its site for awhile.]

And some newspaper coverage of our journey is here.

It’s always a kick when our baby, Front Porch Forum, helps deliver something particularly amazing to our lives… like this whole DC experience.

UPDATE: Here are links to an article by Lynn Monty and a video (below too) by Mark Gould, both of the Burlington Free Press, who were “embedded” on our bus trip.

Obama or Bust… hitting the road for DC

Posted on Monday, January 19, 2009 by 1 comment

UPDATE: Click here for some TV news coverage of our journey.

Joel Banner Baird wrote a piece in today’s Burlington Free Press about a little community adventure my wife is organizing.  Should be wonderful!  Good, bad or otherwise, you can follow along as the Free Press will be reporting live along the road.

Vermonters take bus ride to history
By Joel Banner Baird
Burlington Free Press
http://burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090119/OBAMAINAUGURATION10/90118010
January 19, 2009

Her preparations include flag-topped cupcakes and sensible shoes; pillows and a back-log of reading.

She anticipates sleep deprivation and full-tilt improvisation.

Valerie Wood-Lewis’s inauguration itinerary for the next 48 hours falls somewhere between a no-frills rough guide and a magical mystery tour.

This evening, she and 56 other bus passengers will board the red (and white, and blue)-eye to Washington, D.C. They plan to take in the presidential-elect phenomena, then re-board the bus Tuesday evening and head for home.

Anything more is anybody’s guess. Amid ever-shifting security regulations and crowd estimates, the logistics of pilgrimage continue to evolve. Fervor is the constant.

“People are just pumped up,” Wood-Lewis said last week. “Everyone’s pretty much going to go their own ways, then regroup for the trip back.”

Valerie Wood-Lewis of Burlington chartered a bus with her friends and neighbors to travel to Washington, D.C., on Monday evening for Barack Obama’s inauguration.

She organized the trip on a whim. It began at her mother’s home, while watching inaugural preparations on television.

“It was an epiphany-type thing,” she said. “It became real to me for the first time that people were travelling from all over the country for this thing. I thought — how exciting, just to be in that crowd — and I wondered if I could pull it off.

“My mother said, ‘You wouldn’t catch me dead there,'” Wood-Lewis continued. “I said ‘Aha! I’ve got to be there. I’m going.'”

After investigating several bus services, she settled on Bristol Tours — a company she said has considerable experience with quick trips to Washington, and is “wonderful, unflappable,” she said.

She envisioned a neighborhood field trip. She posted a note on the Front Porch Forum e-mail network, and the reservations swarmed in. She turned aside requests to charter a second bus. The list of standby passengers grew longer.

When Wood-Lewis got word that strollers would be forbidden along parts of the parade route, families with young children bowed out. Their seats filled within minutes.

Wood-Lewis and her husband, Michael, decided to wing it. She wrote out a three-page list of instructions for relatives who will watch over their four kids.

“We’re looking forward to a ton of walking,” she said. “We lived in D.C., in the years after college and before children. We didn’t own a car and we’re familiar with the Metro and bus lines. We’re feeling almost like it’s a little honeymoon.”

She packed and re-packed. Then word arrived that backpacks, too, would be restricted in the Capitol area. She put out another appeal on Front Porch Forum, this time for a fanny pack.

“Some of them were big enough for a camping trip. Others just had room for a Chapstick and a $5 bill.”

She settled for one that could manage a water bottle, power bars and a small digitial camera.

Aboard the bus, she plans to dig into a stack of neglected “New Yorker” magazines and read a couple of books. She brought re-runs of “The West Wing” to share with her fellow passengers.

“And hopefully, people will sleep,” she said.

When the bus arrives at RFK Stadium (sometime between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday), she and her husband will hoof it to a friend’s office with windows overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue — with the understanding they might be turned away at security roadblocks.

Or they’ll take a shuttle to the parade route.

They will have to choose between glimpses of the parade or staking out a few square feet on the Mall, where the swearing-in will be screened on a series of giant television monitors stretching from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.

“It won’t feel as daunting for us as it will seem to for someone coming all the way from New Mexico, for example,” she said.

At the end of the day — whenever that is — Wood-Lewis and the other 56 passengers will return to RFK and the bus that will ferry them back north.

Has launching the Obama-mobile inspired her to organize more calls to community-action?”This is mostly a personal undertaking,” she said. “It’s been a ton of work. But it’s upping my excitement levels.”

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 660-1843 or joelbaird@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com

Additional Facts:
Live Blog:  Follow the bus ride and the complete Inauguration coverage by The Burlington Free Press right here at the Free Press Web site (http://burlingtonfreepress.com). Join the moderated conversation when it opens at 6 tonight. We welcome your comments and feedback. Reporters Lynn Monty and Mark Gould will report live from the bus ride to D.C. as well from all the festivities in our nation’s capital.

Eugene Jarecki and Civic Engagement

Posted on Monday, December 29, 2008 by No comments yet

Mike Ives profiles Vermont filmmaker and author Eugene Jarecki in Seven Days this week.  Jarecki’s 2006 documentary, Why We Fight, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

And he has a new book out…

… he told Jon Stewart recently, he hopes The American Way of War will inspire a sense of common civic engagement that withered during the Bush years. “I’m on a real mission,” he explained to the Comedy Central host. “The worse thing that’s happened is, we’ve become disengaged… ”

And…

Jarecki is trying to make a difference in his community. Neighbors say the Big Picture Theater & Caf© in Waitsfield, which Jarecki co-founded in 2006, is an important civic space for residents of the Mad River Valley.

Good stuff.  Many of Jarecki’s Mad River Valley neighbors have asked us to bring Front Porch Forum there… we hope to in 2009… working on pulling pieces together now.  In Burlington, where we’ve been operating for two years, a survey found 93% of respondents claiming that FPF led to increased civic engagement for them… real, face-to-face, in the community kind of stuff.

“Dulled down, emptied, hurried, shell-shocked”

Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 by No comments yet

I, apparently, don’t get out much.  This holiday season I’ve found myself in places I rarely visit… suburban America, shopping centers, traffic, food courts, gyms with equipment lifted from the Star Ship Enterprise, watching relations spend a good chunk of “family visiting time” instead stroking their electronic tethers… it’s a shock to the system.  I feel like a foreigner in my own culture.  What’s become of walks in the woods, caroling, writing and receiving Christmas cards, baking simple hand-me-down recipes?

I was caught staring many times… oh, I’m afraid to say more right now.  I’ll let Scott Heiferman, quoting Rev. Billy, do it for me…

Rev Billy: … a good New Year’s Resolution would be to be able to shout the truth, and then to be able to hear such a crying out from others, too. We have to hear the cry from within ourselves as well as hear it from an orator in public space. I believe that the criers are out there, but we are so dulled down, emptied, hurried, shell-shocked by advertising, iPodding, Facebooking, sitting in traffic, waiting in line… all we do every day to pursue Consumerism… If we remain consumers, fans, tourists, demographic groups, investors – and not sensual citizens, we will never make our way back… And we will die or we will live – it is our choice. If we die, we might die standing up with our eyes open, buying something we don’t need with money we don’t have. That is modern Hell.

Right now, in 2009, we have an opportunity to defend ourselves against those who find every detail of our lives a potential profit center. The corporations have stumbled, they are smashed on their own greed. We have a unique window of opportunity – maybe have a few weeks or months in 2009 – in which to cry out. All the fake happiness and sorry of advertising is less powerful now. Remember how the supermodels and giant celebrity heads on the cityscape seemed to shrink down after the world trade towers crashed? They were suddenly so ridiculous. The spell of Consumerism was broken for a time. Now it’s happened again. And what are we doing? We are trying to clear our heads. We get up on one elbow. We know what we must do. We need to slip to dance, hear the music, and hold hands. This year, we pledge to find the power again by being human.”

Can you borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbor’s avatar?

Posted on Saturday, December 20, 2008 by 2 comments

Thanks to Dave West for sharing this link

The City of Decatur, Georgia is evaluating the use of a virtual world interface to “encourage community networking, improve civic engagement, and promote economic development.”

Virtual Decatur will provide an environment in which residents, businesses, institutions and visitors can interact and connect…  it is it is imperative that the project go beyond the features of traditional virtual environments.  The overarching purpose of this project is to allow users to interact with the City in new and innovative ways that are not possible in the real world.”

Possible features of the proposed Virtual Decatur might include:

• Opportunities to gather citizen input on policies, topics of interest, city services, and happenings
• A Virtual City Hall Tour with multimedia capabilities.
• Opportunities to earn coupons for use in real stores/retail establishments.
• Streaming video of public meetings, ideally with a chat room feature that allows viewers to comment.
• Access to visitors information (store hours, directions, weather, etc.)

Well… I’m all for experiments, so I’m hopeful that the good folks in Georgia will go ahead with this and then report out results for the world to see.

In a way, it sounds like, as Dave put it, “Front Porch Forum 2.0.”  Hmm…  The purpose of Front Porch Forum is to kidnap peoples’ attention while online and redirect it back to the neighborhood, and, ultimately, get them face to face with neighbors for block parties, crime watches, yard sales, meals on wheels, city council hearings, etc.  That is, FPF is a gateway to real neighborliness and civic engagement (not just virtual facsimiles).  Perhaps the project above will do the same… or perhaps it will prove to be another way to avoid face-to-face contact with the people we live around.

I’m hoping for the best!  Good luck to Virtual Decatur.

Recession Response… steal from vs. help neighbors

Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 by No comments yet

While some people respond to economic hard times by stealing from their neighbors, others turn to each other for mutual aid… and they use Front Porch Forum to get it done.  We just heard from Joanne that her posting helped a neighbor find a job!

I think you were the one who posted this [a job opening with the Census Bureau] to the Charlotte Shore Neighborhood forum.  Thank you very much, it led to a full time job for my father.

In fact FPF is flooded with neighbor-helping-neighbor stories.  Here a some recent ones… and kids food drives, a new community chorus, and daily occurances such as this visit from the Snowblower Fairy.

Don’t talk about religion or politics?

Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 by No comments yet

Growing up in the Midwest in the 1960s and 70s, I frequently heard that one simply did NOT talk about religion or politics.  I somehow combined this etiquette demand with the admonition that I was not to say swear words either.  Needless to say, this approach left me confused… “but how are you supposed to learn and debate and change if you can’t talk about this sh#$@t?”  Oops.

Many people, I think, still feel that it’s improper to talk about such matters among neighbors… at a block party, a school event, or on Front Porch Forum.

Recently, a member of the popular and rural Westford FPF forum posted a note about civil rights and gay marriage… an issue that is picking up steam in Vermont.  This led to a response from another resident…

If our Neighborhood Forum is going to turn into a political soapbox then I will remove myself from the mailing list.  I appreciate being kept informed on our community’s events, and knowing about lost dogs and items for sale, etc. I do NOT want to hear about somebody’s political or sexual orientation. I do not think this is an appropriate venue for such discussions.

And then a third neighbor responded to the above with…

online dictionary definition of a forum (#3)
an assembly, meeting place, … for the discussion of questions of public interest.

I like the Westford Neighborhood Forum from lost dogs, to school district issues, house sitters, farmers markets, and political issues… a place for the discussion of questions of public interest. We all won’t agree but let’s keep the forum open.

I am not interested in every posting on the Forum, but I am always eager to open the email marked Westford Neighborhood Forum and check out what is there.  I feel it is is a great resource for our community and hope it continues to grow.

It’s a tough question… some people are interested, able and willing to engage civilly about almost any topic, while others feel that some popular issues are simply out of bounds and should not be discussed openly.  Front Porch Forum’s mission is to help neighbors connect and foster community at the neighborhood/town level.  And to accomplish that we need lots of people to be involved… not just those of one political persuasion or another.  We also support open, civil and construction conversation among neighbors about many topics.  It’s a balancing act for all involved.

Kids Collect for Kids

Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 by No comments yet

I was so impressed with the informal groups of neighbors who came together around Thanksgiving to collect donated food, each group in their own neighborhood, to pass on to local food shelves.  A group of people in the Laurel Hill area of South Burlington have been doing this for some years and they call it Kids Collect for Kids.  This year, one of the organizing parents, Monica Ostby, turned to Front Porch Forum to get the word out… in her own neighborhood, and also to spread the concept to other neighbors… and several took up the challenge!

I love the informal nature of this… and zero overhead costs.  And the kids work and learn… great all around.  Thanks Monica and everyone.

Serving your nation, your community or your neighborhood

Posted on Sunday, December 14, 2008 by No comments yet

Craig Newmark writes in the Huffington Post today…

Deep in the Barack Obama platform, there’s a reference to “a craigslist for service.” It’s humbling to see our name in there, but I’d prefer to see that as only a metaphorical reference to the need for greater service to others, with the spirit and culture of trust of craigslist. Obama is inspiring millions of people to consider service to others, and to innovate for service. Check out what Barack says at change.gov

“When you choose to serve — whether it’s your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood — you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That’s why it’s called the American dream.”

Sounds like a description of how many folks use Front Porch Forum.

“The planet does not need more ‘successful’ people”

Posted on Friday, December 12, 2008 by No comments yet

Another outstanding quote provided by a Front Porch Forum member.  Thanks to Annie Dunn Watson in Essex…

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more ‘successful’ people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every shape and form. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these needs have little to do with success as our culture has defined it.”  –David Orr