Instructions for Submitting Events to the
Nashville Progressive Calendar


(Some readers may want to start about halfway down this page, at the section titled "What kinds of events will be accepted.")

Because someone was spamming the submission form, I am no longer using it. Currently the only way to submit events to the calendar is by email, to me, Eric, at LeftyMathProf@Yahoo.Com.  It will be helpful to include the word "calendar" as part or all of the email's subject line.  That's because sometimes I don't read all my email, but I am sure to read something labeled in that fashion.

Submissions will not appear instantly, because I sometimes don't read my email for several hours. Be sure that your submission includes all of the following information:
  1. A one-line title of the event, generally between 10 and 30 characters long.
  2. A description of the event, generally between one and five paragraphs long. Mention what is the name of the organization that is organizing the event. Feel free to include any relevant web addresses.
  3. Is the event free and open to the public? (That is the assumption about most or all events on this calendar when no contrary information is stated.)
  4. Date and time of the event. If it's a one-time event, please say so. If it's an event that is held periodically (e.g., "every Wednesday" or "the first and fourth Thursdays of each month," or "the last Thursday of each month"), please say so. If it's an all-day event or if it's different times on different days, then you can omit the time; otherwise, the start time is required. Ending time is optional.
  5. (Optional.) For events that are repeating on a regular basis (e.g., "third Thursday of every month"), I am willing to post a small icon, measuring around 50 pixels by 50 pixels, particularly if it is really a graphic (and not just the initials of your organization in a different font) -- see examples for Peace Coalition on Tuesdays and Socialists on Saturdays. If you have such an icon, let me know about it, and I might use it. If you don't know how to send it to me, just tell me on what web page I may see it; I can get it from there. I may occasionally post a graphic, as well, for a one-time event, particularly if it's one that I'm excited about (e.g., Bradley Manning Solidarity Weekend, in April 2011). I am a little less likely to post an icon for an event that repeats at irregular intervals (e.g., "designated Saturdays"), since that's more trouble for me.
  6. Exact address, including zip code. Please try to avoid ambiguity. (I've sometimes seen people give "Harding" as a street name; apparently they don't realize that "Harding Place" and "Harding Road" are very different major streets. And "near Old Hickory" is utterly useless, because Old Hickory Blvd loops all the way around the county.)
  7. (Optional but recommended:) Tips on where to park one's car.
  8. How to contact someone for additional information. That is essential, and must not be omitted! I would recommend giving a first name (last name is optional), website if you have one, and one or more of the following: phone number; email address. Events that omit contact information, and periodic events that have not recently had their verifications renewed, will be labeled as "unverified."
  9. Indication of which category the event belongs in. Following is a copy of the list of categories; this list can also be found at the bottom of the main calendar page: By the way, if you think my classification into categories is not entirely suitable, please give me suggestions of how to change it -- I might.
 ACTION media events and lobbying events; it's important to get visibly high attendance at these
 LECTURE  and/or workshop -- often contains Q-and-A at the end. Or conference, i.e., many lectures and/or workshops.
 FILM often followed by a discussion
 BUSINESS ordinary "business" meetings, generally periodic, typically where more interesting events are planned
 SOCIALIZING mainly schmoozing, but may also include something else -- e.g., a lecture, a potluck dinner.
 PERFORMANCE live (e.g., on stage). Listed on this calendar only if it includes political themes and/or is a benefit for a political cause. On rare occasions this category may also include noteworthy tv or radio specials. This calendar will not list weekly programs, but we recommend Bill Moyers, Liberadio, and most of the WRFN schedule.




What kinds of events will be accepted:

For the most part, you can just look at what we already have on the calendar, to get an idea of what kinds of things we're looking for. I very rarely reject anything. And if you're in any doubt about whether your event is appropriate, feel free to submit it; the worst that can happen is that I'll say no.

This calendar, though intended as a service for the progressive community, is run privately to avoid 501(c)3 restrictions -- i.e., this calendar will contain both partisan and nonpartisan material. Unfortunately, that means the IRS will not permit 501(c)3 organizations to advertise this calendar. We can advertise you, but some of you cannot advertise us officially. Still, you can tell your friends about us unofficially.

Generally I will accept any event in middle Tennessee (and a few events that are further away) if I consider it to be part of, or closely connected to, "progressive political activism," if it is either free or cheap.

WHAT DOES "PROGRESSIVE" MEAN?  Waldman summarizes it as "we're all in this together." I would say that it is based on empathy, solidarity, and an optimism about the possibilities of human nature. I've written a couple of long essays about that, here (2007) and here (2011) that also includes other definitions by Lakoff, Hartmann, et al. Among political parties, I interpret "progressive" to mean Greens, Socialists, Anarchists, many independents, and some Democrats. Kucinich 2012!

What is "political"? I'm defining that broadly -- it's not just about which people get elected or what legislation gets passed. It's all thoughts about how individuals relate to society, and how groups of people make decisions.

What is "activism"? Well, it's not service or charity. Those are certainly laudable, and I hope someone is doing them somewhere, but they are not the content of this calendar. Service and charity merely make the present system more bearable -- like pulling drowning people from a river. Activism means trying to change the system -- going upstream to repair the bridge where people have been falling into the river, or to stop the S.O.B. who has been throwing them in.

On rare occasions I will include an event that is not really political, but is merely entertainment (e.g., music), for various reasons. One reason would be if it's a benefit performance -- i.e., if proceeds from the event will be given to some political activist organization. Another reason would be if I have reason to expect many or most of the people attending will be progressives and that some progressive discussion (e.g., announcement of other events) will be included. Or an event like Bonnaroo -- it's not political, but if you schedule an event during Bonnaroo, half your intended audience will be out of town; I might post Bonnaroo just to remind you of that.

And I may post a few out-of-town events if I think they're really important -- e.g., the annual anti war protest in Washington DC in March, or the meeting of the United States Social Forum in Detroit in June 2010.

Strictly speaking, it is not easy to separate the adversarial campaigns of progressive politics from the nonadversarial spreading of enlightenment; I have written about the connection between those two revolutions in a brief essay at this link. But if I allow non-political events just because they seem progressive "in spirit," the calendar will soon fill up with non-political events, and people looking for political events will have difficulty finding them. Thus, even though the dividing line sometimes is somewhat unclear and arbitrary, I will try to separate political events from non-political ones, and exclude the latter. Such decisions are admittedly subjective, and I would be interested in hearing arguments to change such decisions.