Fred's Blog: Washington DC Fellows' Summit

I was accepted to be a Young People For fellow with People for the American Way.

The Young People For Summit in DC was amazing! There were 120 other fellows from colleges all over the country and each had a unique passion. They were all such driven people—driven to actually give a care about the world and would do almost anything to make it better. We weren’t meeting to bash Bush or blame America first as some may contend; we were there to stand up for our ideas and to learn the ways to make them real.

We attended training sessions on issues such as faith and values, environmental justice, and public education. Did you know that average starting wage for a teacher in South Dakota is $18,000? There also were skill building workshops like coalition building and messaging. Markos Moukitsas of dailykos.com spoke on the first night of countering the right with aggressive movement building. And that's what we were here to do.

There also were many young elected officials like the Honorable Andrew Gillum, a Florida State student who ran for office during his senior year of college. He was elected to the Tallahassee City Commission with 52% of the vote in a 5 way race. They helped us with understanding that politics is not reserved for the old.

I felt like an adorable freshman all over again. We were all so eager to know one another’s story—handshakes, hugs, and kisses—not just to make friends but to restore fairness and decency in the world with progressive ideals. There was a certain trust that preceded every handshake unlike anything I had felt in a long time.