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I’m balancing a pitcher of beer and making my way to the backyard of Rudy’s Bar & Grill on Ninth Avenue in Midtown. It’s Thursday. People around me scarf down free hot dogs and pontificate on the state of politics today as I spot my group: a handful of Drinking Liberally members positioned across from four 20-somethings who’ve challenged us to a round of flip-cup. You can tell who’s who by the pins—Drinking Liberally’s master of services Justin Krebs has dutifully made sure everyone of his ilk wears a pin saying so.
Born of Necessity
Drinking Liberally was formed in 2003 by Krebs and Matthew O’Neill, a Harvard grad and Emmy-award-winning journalist and filmmaker, respectively. “After the start of the war,” Krebs says, “it felt like the Left had no voice, no leadership. But we realized even our friends weren't talking politics. So we decided to create an avenue to draw our friends into political conversation in their natural habitat.”
A year later, Cosmopolity, a social network Krebs and fellow Harvard grad David Alpert created, incorporated Drinking Liberally thereby offering online calendars and social events as a way to encourage political engagement. The next step was to establish the umbrella organization Living Liberally, which strives to incorporate a person’s political identity into his or her daily life. The program’s intimidating success lies in its brilliant simplicity. Through all of Living Liberally’s groups—Drinking, Laughing, Screening, Eating, Reading, and, more recently, Shooting, Crafting, and Singing—politics are brought to the forefront of what would otherwise be natural social interactions we take part in every day.
A Liberal Lifeline
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Living Liberally chapters are perhaps most stunning in areas that are Republican strongholds. “We give liberals in conservative areas a way to be brave and be themselves,” says Krebs, who now serves as national director of Living Liberally. “My favorite part is getting to meet the hosts from our conservative areas for whom this is a real liberal lifeline.”
Living Liberally chapters manifest themselves in the individual. People who decides to host “liberally” events “become trusted leaders,” says Krebs. “Onlookers become engaged, and engaged people become activists.”
Change Begins at Home
The change Living Liberally creates happens most often on a micro level. In New York City’s recent mayoral campaign, Living Liberally hosted mayoral forums and debate-watching events in a race most groups were ignoring. “The forum we hosted led to Democracy for NYC voting to endorse Thompson,” Krebs says.
And although Thompson lost in the end as expected, Krebs says the effect of the campaign will change the face of Bloomberg’s politics.“The closeness of the race will force Bloomberg to adjust his style and contend with a more forceful public advocate and council this term,” Krebs says. “Democracy for New York City was the kind of group that helped generate that support for Thompson. We didn’t tell anyone who to vote for, but we created forums few other progressive, independent groups were hosting.”
About the Author
Nicole Caldwell is a freelance writer and editor, as well as the owner and operator of Better Farm, an educational center and artists’ retreat in Redwood, N.Y. Her work has appeared in Playgirl, New York Press, Reader's Digest, Time Out New York, and Media Bistro, among others. She graduated from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 2006.
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