The Reason I Love The Newsroom

             Some of you may know that I constantly sing the praises of The Newsroom. This started about the time that I started with Organizing for America last year, which is when I sent two whole days marathoning the show. I was intrigued by the premise, a news show that actually gives you the news. No BS, the news, stories that were actually important. As a BA in Political Science, this idea excited me. I am normally one to avoid major news broadcasts and go straight to BBC and Al Jazeera before I even consider looking at CNN, ABC, FOX, or MSNBC. I can't sit through the garbage that they report on before they get to things that actually affect our lives, and sometimes they never even get to that.

             What really hit me and made me love the show was the very first monologue. The answer given by character Will McAvoy to what I considered an absurd question. "What makes America the greatest country in the world?" The answer that had immediately flown from my lips appeared on my screen. "It isn't, not anymore."The full monologue may be the best piece of writing I have ever seen and it may be the most daring statement ever made by television. I was awestruck. I was also hooked. The Newsroom is a show that is made for people like me. People who watch these events unfold, but have to do through news outlets that are not even from their country. People who try to talk about these events happening and no one seems to care or the information that they have on the issue is heavily biased by the news station they received it from. The Newsroom is the news show of my dreams. Unfortunately, it is a show, a drama, not a real news show.

              Now, what I really love about the show is not the message, not the dream of it, but the way it makes me feel. The Newsroom is really hard for me to watch. Every episode reminds me of a day that I stared in disbelief, sadness, fury, and joy at what was going on in the world around me. Things like the shooting of Gabby Giffords, the Japanese Tsunami, the Gulf Oil Spill, the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, the GOP primaries, etc. These are things that I wrote about. I posted on a blog with Leon about these events. Events that made my heart stop and my eyes water. Events that disgusted me. Every episode brings back those feelings because it is like it is happening all over again and that is a good thing. Remembering those feelings is a good thing because these are events that should not be forgotten, should not be swept under the rug of history. If we remember, we will make change. We will never allow these things to happen again. 

               I am not saying that you have to love the show. Not everyone will. But give it a chance. It will teach you things about our country and our world. It will keep your memory fresh and those emotions present so that change is made. Change is the mission of our generation after all. 

"First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore."

Will McAvoy, "The Newsroom" S.1Ep.1

Is America Post-Racial Yet? The Correct Answer is Hell No.

           To say that one of the things that has lead me to lose faith in humanity and society lately is the blatant racism going on would be an understatement. Across the globe, racism is rampant. In places where racism should be a bad memory is still holds strong. A nation of immigrants cannot move past it.

          I'm going to air out a few things now before I go forward. I am a white, 20 something, female who was lucky enough to go to a really good high school and college and only struggled with being in the low income bracket for a couple years. Despite this, I never really judged people by their skin color. I was born in Virginia Beach, VA, an incredibly diverse city and went to a school in Georgia where I was the minority. I learned to judge people more by their self expression (their clothes and hair) and their actions growing up. People do not like to believe me when I tell them this. "You are a white girl." "There is not such thing as color blind." I agree with these statements. They are true. I have always accepted I am not the norm and never will be. I accept that I am privileged, but I know more about the environment I grew up so trust me here. 

         In my life I have seen a lot of racism. Post 9/11 it was any person who looked like they may be Arabic. During that time I lived in Southwestern Virginia, the most monochromatic place I have ever set foot. I watched as any person who looked vaguely Middle Eastern was harassed and told "to go home, you towel head." I watched people riot and celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden. I realize he was an awful human being who deserved to pay for his crimes, but to riot in the streets, to revel in a death, never made sense to me. 

          In France, the same things is happening. The Burka Ban is something I followed closely in college because it was so blatantly and openly targeting Muslims and Arabs that I was sure it wouldn't make it through. Not in a progressive place like France. No way. But then it did. 

              African Americans have fought an uphill battle for hundreds of years. First, freedom. Next, the vote. Next, Civil Rights. The problem is with all this progress there are still so many hurdles. There are schools that teach the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression. It is a point of Southern pride to fly a Confederate flag and wear it on half of your clothing. Those awful "Don't Tread on Me" flags everywhere (that was originally a Confederate political cartoon btw...). The fact that I know who the head of the local KKK chapter was in the town I went to high school with and that you could tell which school had been the "colored" school still decades later. 

             Now, kids are dying. Children. Are. Dying. Trayvon is not the first African American kid gunned down because he looked "suspicious." He was a high school kid going through the typical high school stuff. No high schooler is perfect... Truthfully, we were all pretty messed up back then, but that's how finding yourself works, right? If a hoodie makes you suspicious and dangerous looking, then people would have called the cops on me starting freshman year of high school and wouldn't have stopped...ever. The problem is that no one really cares until it is some cute little white girl. Then it is a tragedy. She had her whole life ahead of her and it was stolen. That should be our reaction to EVERY CHILD THAT DIES. Not just the cute ones. It should be devastating. 

               On top of all this, the Stand Your Ground law might be the worst idea ever. It gives people who carry guns with them an excuse to shoot anyone they find threatening because they were defending themselves. All they have to say is "I was scared for my life" and BOOM! Done. No retribution. But, this law is enforced equally either. There is an african american woman who shot a warning shot during an incident of domestic violence in her home last year. She was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. The court refused to give her the Stand Your Ground defense. This is a serious problem. The very idea of that law being in place makes my insides squirm. It scares me. 

               The sad thing in all of this is that there are people who think we have made it past racism. People who believe that we've made it over that hurdle and don't have to work for it anymore. I wish I could live in their little fantasy world because it is a hell of a lot prettier than the reality I have observed growing up.

                  What we can do now is make sure that this changes. Our generation is where it stops. We make this country a better place. We make the changes necessary. No more sitting around acting like our voices can't be heard and we can't make a difference. WE CAN. There is proof of this everywhere. We just have to stand together and do everything we can to make this country better.

Introduction to My New Life

           Hey, everyone. This is Michele. I am a 22 year old with a Bachelor's in Political Science and International Studies. I worked for OFA this past Fall and just really love the type of work I've been doing and decided to continue. I know I was supposed to start writing this...like a month ago, but I've been hard at work in DC doing amazing work in the name of progress.

          If you haven't heard I accepted a job in DC with a really awesome political organizing group doing the work I love. I worked both as a Director in the DC office and as part of our Summer Recruitment team in Boston, MA at our headquarters. It's been an amazing ride. I love it. 

          The story continues. New chapters are opening as we speak. I love DC. It's the perfect city for me right now. I've experienced so much since I got here. I watch history happen from the center of it all. DOMA and Prop 8 struck down mere minutes from my office. I was in Boston during the tragic bombings and watched a city, tough as nails, pick itself back up and continue on. 

         This blog will be about the goings ons in my life as well as goings ons in the world. Amazing things and sad things. Things that make me lose faith in humanity and society and things that restore that faith. The musings of a post-college Political Science major trying to make her way in the world of activism and politics. 

            Enjoy.