Although they may be best known for a political advertisement questioning the integrity of General David Patreus and for successfully petitioning Facebook into changing its Beacon information policies, the latest incarnation of left-leaning political advocacy group MoveOn.org is sprouting up on a local level.
Grassroots community MoveOn groups have popped up across the country in the past few years, providing a local outlet for the more than 3 million members of MoveOn.org. Just three months ago, Murfreesboro’s chapter met for the first time.
“There are more Democrats in Middle Tennessee than you’d think,” said Darrell Bouldin, the 21-year-old council coordinator for the Murfreesboro chapter of MoveOn.
He might be young, but Bouldin isn’t your average 21-year-old.
“I’ve been inspired about political activism from a young age,” Bouldin said.
Growing up, Bouldin was inspired by political figures like Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. He considers activism as not only his social and political duty, but spiritually imperative, and is a member of Amnesty International. He also plans on forming a discussion group called the Murfreesboro Conversation Salon later this year.
Since the presidential campaign began, Bouldin found new inspiration in Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Although he was already familiar with MoveOn.org, the group held an added attraction for Bouldin in 2008, when it declared its support for Obama.
“Obama really has inspired me to be more of an activist,” he said.
One month after forming the Murfreesboro chapter of MoveOn, the group organized a local candlelight vigil in protest of the war in Iraq. More than 100 people came. Their success garnered the attention of a national publication.
Bouldin calls his group’s platform progressive and pooh-poohs any claims that its agenda is unpatriotic. MoveOn, he says, is in favor of national health care and against the continuation of the war in Iraq.
Later this month the Murfreesboro group will be helping MoveOn promote its Bush-McCain Challenge to see if the public can tell the difference between our current president and the presumed Republican candidate in this year’s presidential election. It’s worth signing up, as the test prompts you to midstream, if only to answer a final series of questions comparing McCain and a moldy carrot. Take the quiz at bush-mccainchallenge.com.
Throughout the year Bouldin and his group also plan on holding voter registration events and promoting local involvement in the democratic process.
Visit MoveOn.org for more information, or e-mail dises06@gmail.com for information about the local group.
