For those of you not familiar with Drinking Liberally, this is a social networking website that brings together like minded individuals to share in friendly debate and libations. In the spirit of the MoveOn parties that (almost) put Kerry into office, Drinking Liberally chapters meet once or twice a month over drinks (as the name implies) to discuss political issues (from a liberal perspective, as the name also implies). These sorts of groups represent some of the best that the internet has brought to our lives, helping to create new community structures during a time that the small community is an endangered species. As a liberal, a drinker, and yes a liberal drinker, I was quite pleased to learn of this particular group, and attended my first meeting last night, at a local brewery.

Though the ‘liberal’ epitaph makes for a nice play on words, it distracts from the real positive energy I witnessed last night. It seems that these groups function more than as a way to bring together angry donkeys to discuss impeachment, complain about the Patriot Act and cheer Karl Rove’s departure (though admittedly these all came up!) The organization’s slogan is “Promoting democracy one pint at a time.” Note that it isn’t “promoting gay marriage one drink at a time,” or “promoting a withdrawal from Iraq one drink at a time.” Democracy, after all, isn’t about issues, and it isn’t about liberal vs. conservative, its about rational debate amongst the people regarding the standards and challenges of life.

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