By Junaid M. Afeef
Originally posted on An American Muslim Journal.
It’s Friday evening. You’ve returned home from a long work week and you’re tired. The kids’ homework doesn’t have to get done just now. It can wait until later this weekend. The kids are in the best mood of the week. Friday nights are happy nights for the kids because there are hours upon hours of fun in store. No school to dread. Mom and Dad will be home. There may even be some pizza or Mikey D’s in the cards too.
So, with relatively placated kids squared away and at least a day and a half of rest ahead, you settle back into that nice lazyboy and turn on the tube. It’s time to watch Obama and McCain square off. Maybe a little Anderson Cooper 360 before the candidates lock horns and, just for fun, maybe even a little Fox News afterwards to remind yourself just how effective and scary echo chambers and spin machines can be.
If you’re like me, then you’ll have your pjs on and your laptop just off to one side with the internet buzzing. Aaah! This is relaxing. But wait! This is not how we, the politically savvy grassroots mobilizers, do things! No! You can’t watch the presidential debates alone! You have to watch them with your friends and neighbors! And not just your South Asian and Arab neighbors either. Break out of your comfort zone and find a place to watch the debates with others - real others.
I’m not saying walk into a hotbed of rabid Republicans (okay, I’m sorry, I know not all Republicans have rabies but you know the effect I’m going for), but just go where not everybody knows your name, where they don’t all look the same. Believe me, they’ll still be glad you came.
Debate watching parties are an excellent way to share your point of view with folks who might not otherwise be exposed to your way of thinking. Plus, it gives other Americans a chance to see and hear from people whom they usually see as tv news caricatures.
Over the last 2 years I have engaged more with my neighbors than at any other point in my life. I know for a fact that I’ve developed more relationships in two years than my parents did their entire lives to date!
I’ve learned a lot in the process. People are generally very nice. It sounds weird but in world where neighbors barely acknowledge each other, you just don’t have a sense of what others are like until you reach out to them. People are very polite and often times very naive as well. And when it comes to politics, its a subject that people generally don’t chat about with neighbors unless its a close friendship.
That’s why debate parties can be so fun. Because it’s a political debate, politics are no longer taboo. Since its a party people start talking in a more relaxed manner (versus the stilted hi, how are you conversation at the edge of the driveway or at a PTA meeting). In this one small chunk of time you can do more to destroy negative stereotypes, inject fresh points of view into the discussion and create a living, breathing example of what an American Muslim really is, than you ever will writing checks to congressional candidates (not to say you shouldn’t do that - just don’t limit yourself to it).
Where are these debate parties? Well friend, they can be as close as your own living room! Some soda, some chips and popcorn, maybe some coffee and cake and your all set. All you need to do is walk over a few days before the debate with a homemade flyer (the less fancy the better) that says “You’re Invited! Come Watch the Presidential Debate at Our House!” and then put down yours and your spouse’s name, address, home telephone number and the time. That’s it.
Sounds scary? Okay, no worries. Let’s start slow.
Start off by attending a party elsewhere. Go to either presidential candidate’s website to find out where the debate parties are in your neighborhood (Obama | McCain). Gather up one (just one, because otherwise you’ll be a party within a party) friend and head to the party. It’s that easy.
We’re going through some incredibly tough times as nation, as a religious community and as a human race. We need to do our part to make things better. The Ostrich method has been proven, time and again, to be ineffective. We need to get out of our comfort zones. I honestly believe that, hard as it may be in the beginning, you’ll end up with a stronger sense of community in the end!
Junaid M. Afeef is an attorney, organizer, & writer. His blog An American Muslim Journal is “all about life, religion, politics and community from the perspective of an American who is a Muslim and a Muslim who is an American.”