The Metropolist

Copyright & Civil Rights

When "Eyes on the Prize" can't be seen, the Public Domain has been lost.

Reclaim the Domain, Friday night at The Tank, when we screen the film for free.

Reserve your seat now.

Countdown Party #3

As The Tank prepares for its future, a series of Countdown Parties will mark its final months.

These monthly parties, counting down to The Wrecking Ball on May 21, are part of the scheme to build Tank2. They spread the word, they raise energy, they bring in new support.

They are the only free fundraisers I've ever heard of. That's the kind of business approach that makes The Tank special.

The next one is coming up on Saturday, Feb 19. It's Countdown Party #3. And it's the answer to Valentine's Day.

"where hopes and dreams collide with harsh reality and disappointment"

Where do hopes and dreams collide with harsh reality and disappointment? According to Sam Oglesby, on 42nd Street. That's my 42nd Street he's describing. Thankfully, he's not describing the show he saw at The Tank that way.

Sam Oglesby of the Gay City News is one more critic who gets The Tank. Add him to the list of comrades.

A few choice quotes:

"This is the kind of place that provides a forum for nurturing new talent who come to New York with empty pockets and bags full of creative aspiration."

"As the audience filed out into the cold night with smiles still on their faces, they were handed a leaflet that said, 'The Tank is Losing Its Home. Help Us Find A New Space. Help Shape Our Future.' Forty-Second Street may be coming a wholesome theme park, but in the process it may be losing its soul."

We're trying to save the soul, Sam, I promise.

In America's new clubs, David Brooks isn't a member

Americans want communities.

As Theda Scokpol and Robert Putnam have both described, the decline in participation in membership organizations has matched decrease in civic participation. Part of the excitement of the past 2 years has been the way new networks have used the internet to reinvigorate "membership" and reinvent clubs for the 21st Century.

Just as Meetup.com was inspired by Putnamism, the Dean movement found spiritual guidance in the pursuit of social capital. After the Dean candidacy ended, the Democracy for America clubs across the country continued to cross education, ethnicity and economics while promoting local civic dialogue.

That's what makes David Brooks' misunderstanding of the Dean phenom a little funny, kind of sad and so exactly wrong.