steve_in_kc posted a terrific piece on todays NoQuarter http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/11/23/the-year-of-the-puma/.
He posed some provoking questions and shared some salient thoughts with respect to the issues we face:
1. What exactly is PUMA and is it still relevant?
2. Is the PUMA thing a thing of the past with the passing of the election?
3. And am I a closet Republican now?
to which I replied with the post below.
Yours are questions we all entertain from time to time, especially now, as what I like to call our Phase III, or ongoing Movement Forward begins to take form. FWIW, PUMA is indeed a spirit..it is organic and embraces everyone [or should!] and anyone who resists being defrauded, manipulated and compartmentalized, marginalized and ignored by an old party line, regardless of who is perpetrating it; who long for change and are willing to work together with others for it; who embraces true unity from diversity, eschews sexism and partisanship and can be registered or not registered with any party. There is a significant majority of Americans--about 80%--that favors centrism and moderation, and it is this segment of Americans who have been ignored and forgotten by both the Republican and Democratic parties. Each coalition under the PUMA/JSND umbrella is free to address these issues in their own way and my hope is that we can all continue to work together in a loose coalition, toward our shared goals.
There is absolutely NO doubt that the PUMA Spirit lives, alive and well, and continues to grow exponentially. We have just begun to fight--for our country and its people, for its Constitution and Bill of Rights, for all of those things for which our forefathers and mothers fought and risked so much. I am thrilled by the incredible successes we have had in a very short time since we pounced into being in June 2008! The 300 Delegates, the branding and exposure of the PUMA name and spirit--our movement has been covered and recognized all over the world and in all 50 states! I have no doubt that we will continue to be a growing force in American political and media reform.
As for including men in the PUMA spirit, it is imperative! To me, one of the most significant roles of PUMA is to teach ourselves and others to be INclusive--to embrace both men and women of all ages, creeds, races and cultures--to value human rights and accord everyone dignity and respect, irrespective of whether we always agree. I recommend all those interested in promulgating these values to visit and join The New Agenda http://thenewagenda.org and http://Together4US.com, and, beginning the first week of December, http://SpiritofPuma.com. All are non partisan, with The New Agenda's focus primarily on the eradication of sexism and the others tackling political and media reform as well. All welcome BOTH men AND women! Visit and join, and urge your friends to do the same, for this is where I believe our futures lie--with all people, creeds and genders, working together for the common good of our country and its principles of democracy and human rights for all.
Again, my thanks to Steve for his most constructive and compelling post. It is from posts like his that we can all continue to evaluate ourselves and our progress, our participation and our effectiveness, and to remember that basically, we all share mutual concerns and goals, and need to embrace one another in working together for them.
Monday, November 24, 2008
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I thank YOU for your post. I agree with you most wholeheartedly. Around midsummer I made peace with my decision to leave the Democrats and vote McCain. I told myself the Democrats had left me, and I still believe that. Throughout the past few decades the Republican party was highjacked by it's base ~ the most extreme wing of the party. The same has now unfolded with the Democrats ~ the party is held by the extreme left. Politically I have always been more at home in the center, and that explains my loyalty to President Clinton and Senator Clinton. I found great comfort when he was President and governed from a common sense perspective rather than strict ideology. Now that both parties seem to be controlled by the extremes, I am an Independent. I agree most with Democrats, but am a fiscal conservative. President Clinton demonstrated that Democrats can be masterful at economics, and though he can't take all of the credit, the economy was damn good in the 90's. But...I digress. I am a PUMA and for the foreseeable future, will most certainly remain a PUMA. We are struggling with what that all means, and I think it means different things to different people, but again, this is to be expected when a movement is young, it is called growing pains. It will continue to evolve and take shape, it has a life of it's own. We can hardly sit on our hands and do nothing. As the Democrats were the big-tent Party, so now will the PUMAs follow that path. At least, that is my hope. Thank you again for the thoughtful post.
ReplyDeletedaiseymae, many thanks for your salient comments! You and I are, I believe, joined by that 80% majority of Americans which I have termed "The Moderate Zone." I hope you'll continue to work with us all in our Movement to redefine, hold accountable and reform American politics and media and eradicate sexism in the country we love!
ReplyDeleteBest,
tig;)