Hey all. I have a great idea that needs input from progressive, patriotic members such as yourselves.
Here is my vision. We create a web site that is a “Republican Deprogrammer”
(I design websites for a living so I can build this puppy and host it as well)
The user is invited to answer questions, which then bring them to the next screen. We can set it up to dispel Republican talking points and myths.
Something like:
We were attacked on 9-11 (Show images)… which organization was responsible for the attack?
A list shows and if the click on the wrong one, it says no, try again. When they click Al-Qaeda, it goes to next screen: Yes. with a brief explanation of who what when where. Or we could have a page that read: Saddam and Osama have worked together in the past to undermine the U.S. True or False.
Get the idea? We could put up a: Clinton was too “distracted” by his personal issues to deal with the threat accordingly: True or False. Then we can bring them to a screen that details the four days of bombings Clinton authorized and the quotes from the Righties during that time. Then to comments by Clarke about how the Bush security council never took the threat seriously.
See where I’m going with this? Any one have any ideas, input? Anyone want to design this thing? I’ll build it. It’s just that I am really buys and can’t do both.
Think about it. Sleep on it.
Get back to me.
Oh my – sounds like quite the undertaking. How would you get your target market to view the product? (While reading your diary, I couldn’t help but think of “Field of Dreams” – but in this instance it wouldn’t be as easy as “Build it and he will come”.
Interesting concept . . .
This is a huge job when you think about all the areas in which “recovering conservatives” need deprogramming.
Perhaps we could keep it manageable by having brief intros into specific topics and then directing them to other websites where they could get factual information.
There are already websites like that on climate change and other environmental issues, and I’m sure there are on other issues as well – no need to reinvent the wheel.
The site then could be a welcoming portal to help them identify and deal with the emotional issues of realizing you’ve been had (anger, fear, shame, etc.) – I’m not a psychologist or minister, so someone with more expertise might want to head up this area.
And as a portal, it then could have brief discussions on specific topics that point to other websites. I’d be interested in contributing to these in the areas I know about (science/environmental issues).
Just a thought on the structure; what do others think?
Sounds neato.
–What’s needed is more monumental than most of us realize.
The first thing to do is talk it up with some sales people. That’s one of the cheapest, fastest ways to get you oriented towards ways of engaging and motivating people who either don’t care or who feel actively opposed to what they think you’re peddling.
It’s probably going to be more informative to work with human-sales people than with mass marketers. A good working gut-feel for how humanity works is worth its weight in oil.
You won’t get anyone to come to you to be deprogrammed because programmed people don’t think they’ve been programmed. It’s going to have to be marketed with some kind of very open-minded, perhaps almost questioning kind of imagery, something that will draw your target audience without triggering their fighting responses.
The Republicans have sunk scores of billion$ into their efforts. That’s what we’re up against.
I know when I’m out of my league. In my own case I tried every logical argument under the sun. The only thing that worked was to put something into the people’s hands that worked better for them when they used it than what they had before.
I know how to do this with physical implements. With political ideas, oh boy, it’s the brazillion dollar question isn’t it?