Decisions, and history, are made by those who show up.

This is a well-known truism in politics, but it seems to be remembered only by those who do show up. They are the ones who hear and understand, and what the progressive movement needs is a lot more people to hear, understand, believe and act on these words. The bottom line, especially for progressivism, is that showing up is key to everything else.

Being a progressive does not mean you believe in universal health care, justice, etc. Plenty of non-progressives believe in such things. Libertarians can dislike corporations as much as progressives. Being a progressive has nothing to do with any particular policy or issue. The progressive movement is about grassroots democracy, about ordinary citizens taking control of the power that is essentially and fundamentally theirs in a democracy.

And obviously, in order for citizens to take and wield their democratic powers, they have to do more than stay home and be outraged at what “they” are doing. To be a part of the progressive movement and not just an admirer on the sidelines, you have to actually do something.

Step one is to show up.

Last night I finished my phone banking at the Bus Project, and I asked Henry what the no-show rate was for those who said they come on a Bus trip. “50 percent,” he answered, and Audra nodded in agreement. Half. (Math whiz at work: please stand back and be careful.) First of all, it takes a ton of work to get even one person to agree to show up. I made 60 calls or so last night, most of which got me their voice mail; I spoke to about 8 people about Bus trips, and I got one solid Yes (and 3 strong maybes for September trips). That’s a lot of time and effort to get one person to agree to come this Sunday to Clackamas County and walk for Brent Barton.

What if that one person decides, Heck it’s Sunday, I’m going to the beach with my friends? What part has that person played in making things better in Oregon? How does he help bring us closer to full health care, to finding workable solutions to the problems that are troubling Oregonians? What happens to the progressive movement in his neighborhood, his school or workplace? If he decides he’s not going to show up, what happens to those who were counting on him?

As it turns out, the Bus and other groups who depend on volunteers only half-counts on such people. They know the odds are 50-50 he’ll give us his assurance on Thursday when we call him back, Yes I’ll be there, and yet he’s as likely to be a no-show as taking up a seat on the Bus.

Until citizens realize they actually have to show up, this country will continue to be run by those who do show up. Unfortunately, a lot of those showing up possess money, clout, networks of influence, and personal mission to grab and hold on to all the power they can. Their goal in showing-up is not to spread the wealth but to take it for themselves and their partners. Those who stay home to watch tv, go to the beach, sleep in, nurse their sore tummy — whatever, the excuses are myriad — they cede control of the country to whoever it is that does show up and act.

I show up in part because I know how important it is, and in part because the people I do this stuff with are friends. I have a lot of fun doing this stuff (there is frequently food, beer and music involved at some point, the dirty little secret of politics too few people give themselves a chance to learn). Going door-to-door and phone-banking: not my favorite things in the world. I’m much more comfortable right where I am this moment: at a keyboard. I love to to write, and I would love to be able to spend my day helping by writing, working on websites, doing research, etc.

But someone has to talk directly to other citizens. The progressive movement is growing not because people are outraged — people are always frikkin’ outraged — but because people are getting up, showing up and they are reaching out to their neighbors and other ordinary citizens. I spoke with a handful of people in Bend this weekend. I may have convinced one man to vote against the “One primary” initiative — he’s a supporter of third parties, and that initiative would destroy them in Oregon — and I got the name of Judy Stiegler before about a dozen other people. If I was doing that on my own, the effect would be minimal. But I was one of 5 dozen people, and between us, we spoke to around a thousand people (the rate of having someone at the door varies widely). 60 or so of us showed up, and we made a hell of a difference.

A single individual has minimal impact on the process. But it’s never a single individual. As the Bus readies for Sunday’s trip to Clackamas County, we know half of those who assure us they are coming — won’t. But imagine if they did show. We know we’ll hit over 2,000 doors on Sunday, and we’ll speak to hundreds of voters. If we got everyone to show up, we would double that impact. Even with a 50% drop-out rate, the Bus brings campaigns much closer to victory. Double the impact, get everyone to show up, and we can consider the very real possibility of slam-dunks.

The flip-side of the phrase at top is also true: History is made by those who don’t bother to show up. Staying home or going to the beach: it’s a surrender. At some point, citizens who truly do care have to act. They have to leave their comfort zone and do something tangible to make change happen. Sending in money is great, but money can only do so much. A human face at the door, or a voice on the phone: one ordinary citizen reaching out to another, that’s what will win elections and change history.

Showing-up. If you don’t do it, you let the bastards win.