A New Voice Was Heard

(@10 PM  buhdy is da bomb! – promoted by On The Bus)

On November 11, 2005, a new voice was heard by progressive bloggers.  Only four people heard that new voice, only four people were listening.  I don’t know why they were the only people who listened to that new voice, no one will ever know for sure, but perhaps they sensed that despite a spelling mistake or two, it was possible that maybe, just maybe, buhdydharma might have a bright future in blogging and make a difference someday . . .  

On Freedom…………………with beer

by buhdydharma

Fri Nov 11, 2005 at 04:09:24 PM PST

As the Republican war machine begins to disintegrate under the wieght of corruption and lies, (pardon the interuption for a moment, I, we have been waiting a long time for those words to be true. DEEP BREATH) I’m afraid the national paradigm has sunk so far that I feel compelled to ask this question of Kossaks.

What is Freedom?

It was and still is a very good question, it was the first of many other important questions Buhdy has sought answers for since then, through mutually respectful dialogue and debate with other progressives.  It was a very worthwhile question to ask, but unfortunately, Buhdy’s first response to a thread comment didn’t seem to inspire much confidence that he was worth talking to . . .  

I think you’re missing my point.

by TsisaGeya on Sat Nov 12, 2005 at 04:51:41 AM PST

But his next responses confirmed that he was well worth talking to . . .

Oh, Buhdy… You have made yourself a HERO in my eyes, my friend.

by TsisaGeya on Sat Nov 12, 2005 at 11:39:38 AM PST

If you read those responses of Buhdy’s you’ll see why it wasn’t long before thousands of people on Daily Kos considered it worthwhile to listen to him and talk to him, why they came to admire and respect him.  From the very beginning, he treated others with respect, he reached out to them and found common ground upon which they could stand together and debate issues as friends, not as people on opposite sides of an issue, not as antagonists, but as fellow progressives sharing a common vision of a better future.  

He has always done that, he is still doing that.  Every day for more than three years on Daily Kos, every day since Docudharma began, he has set an example we should all emulate.  Reaching out to one another, welcoming different opinions, bonding through humor, interacting with mutual respect, working together to achieve common goals, these are the examples Buhdy has set, these are the foundations upon which lasting Netroots unity can be built.    

On November 11, 2005, a new voice was heard, a voice that tens of thousands of progressives have come to trust and respect.  Buhdy’s voice is the voice of a friend, but it is much more than that, it is the voice of a friend who leads but also follows,  the voice of a friend who offers advice but also welcomes it, the voice of a friend who has shown us all what dedication is, who has shown us what every progressive should aspire to be, who has shown us how to become the change we seek.

Since Buhdy’s voice was first heard in 2005, many other new voices have been heard on our blogs, speaking out on behalf of those who have no voice, speaking out for those who have always been ignored.  As progressives, we know that too many voices are never heard, we’re progressives because we believe that every voice matters, even the meekest voice, even the most humble of voices.

I hope those voices will be heard soon, here on Docudharma and on every progressive blog.  I hope they’ll join us so we can listen to them, so we can learn from them, so we can talk with each and every one of them, so change can come for all of us, so it can come from all of us.  One voice can change a blog, we’ve seen it happen, and if one voice can change a blog, it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it can change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world.