Living Liberally is all about making cultural events places to become energized and educated about politics. Unfortunately I'm often too busy to attend Living Liberally events, sometimes because I'm running around New York with the liberal Jewish groups that I am part of, going to events that, oh yeah, are often places for people to become energized or educated about politics, either officially or unofficially. When I leave New York I have more than the nationwide network of Drinking Liberallys to rely upon for interesting political conversation, because all across the East Coast young progressive Jews are hanging out and praying - and then going and doing things that are pretty useful.
One of my good friend Julie Aronowitz's favorite books is Bowling Alone, and she seems determined to single-handedly reverse trends of Americans spending less and less time in community. When I spent a recent weekend at her place in Boston she invited 60 people to attend Jewish religious services and a potluck in her apartment and the apartment of her upstairs neighbors as a joint program with the Moishe/Kavod House. After the services her roommate gave a brief speech about organic produce, and how one of her friends volunteered in a community where many people were dying of cancer presumably because of exposure to the pesticides that they sprayed on the crops they were growing. She then distributed information about buying a share in a co-op, and encouraged people to split shares with those seated around them
Joelle Novey is one of the people who helps run an independent minyan called Tikkun Leil Shabbat in D.C. Every time they meet someone from a social justice organizations speaks, and provides participants with ways of getting involved with the cause that they are working for.
"We've heard [talks about how we could repair the world] about security guards organizing, efforts to clean up the Anacostia River, the local fight for marriage equality, activism to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and...more... There are 150-200 folks at each of our gatherings, and almost 500 on our email list...We're placing ongoing social justice work at the center of our Jewish community life in a way that feels unprecedented and important," she said.
Ben Dreyfus, one of the founders of Kol Zimrah, an independent minyan in New York City, said he'd participated in several calling parties before the '04 and '06 elections with people he'd mainly met through the Kol Zimrah community, and become involved with Democracy in the Park and several local campaigns through people from the progressive Jewish community as well.And, of course, one of my Kol Zimrah friends proofread my cover letter for Living Liberally, thus enabling me to spend my days trying to get people to go to progressive networking events.
Thursday is Purim, when Jews are commanded to drink and give to charity-not necessarily in that order. Although I won't be able to make it to Drinking Liberally this week, I hope that the liberals that I do end up drinking with lead me to interesting progressive opportunities.
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