We did it, Daily Kos! It’s officially been 20 years of fighting for a better, more progressive country through our words, our organizing, and our actions.
Holy crap! No matter how long you’ve been here, be it from May 26, 2002 or yesterday, please wish yourself a happy, happy Kos-iversary. This site is nothing without its readers and the Community, and I’m so glad I get to spend my working days with you and your content.
RELATED: Daily Kos turns 20, and what a ride it's been
I’m going to dive right into our final installment of This Is My Best without much fanfare, folks, because truth be told, this is the 10th and final edition of this celebratory series, and I think I’ve said it all. Previous installments featured my beloved Community Contributors Team, my cherished Daily Kos colleagues (part one and part two), and Kos himself. And that was before we tackled the Community (part one, part two, part three, part four, and part five).
RELATED: Daily Kos celebrates 20 years!
All in all, we’ve highlighted about 200 self-selected “best” stories since March. Let’s get right to ‘em.
Here’s a reminder of how This is My Best works:
Some years ago, I’m told, there was a wonderful series called This Is My Best (TIMB), which encouraged Community members to share their own writing that they were most proud of, rather than the writing of others. One part self-promotion, one part self-confidence, all parts awesome, TIMB encourages writers to press pause on their role as their own worst critics and take some time to toot their own horns.
This final installment includes the last 12 stories submitted over the last two months, spanning from 2005 to 2021 and covering the deeply personal to the starkly angry to the very funny.
MESSAGINGMATTERS
Liberal talk show host takes down Texas caller (2014)
Well first, happy anniversary to the only political site that I read every day, comment, and even on rare occasions contribute a diary. Wait, you want us to highlight our own favorite diary that we wrote? My favorite is also the one that got the biggest response, Liberal talk show host takes down Texas caller, It showcases Michelangelo Signorile, who was very kind to send me the tape so that I could dissect it in such a fun way. He shows us how to deal with the MAGAts!
NOPLOT
The seditionist in the next pew ... (2021)
I don’t think it's my best written work; it has some factual errors pointed out in comments and it feels rather raw. (Indeed, I didn’t even get the car right; it’s a Blue Camry, not a Blue Corolla.) But nothing else I've written here has gotten close to this kind of response, and despite the errors, it feels as true today as when it was written.
SEAN ROBERTSON
Why the Great Experiment is failing (2005)
I wrote this back in August of 2005 (I’ve been on this site since ‘03). It was prescient, unfortunately, but more than that, it was a call to action. We didn’t (and still don’t) have to accept that decline as fate—there are indeed things we can and must do about it. I’ve written many things here and elsewhere, but consider this to be among my best (and certainly the most well-received here—it topped the rec list for at least a full day, IIRC).
SKORPIO
Legal hurricane at the ‘baby jail’ in Dilley, Texas (2019)
I’m a lurker much more than a poster, but this diary merges the personal with a story of national interest. I volunteered for a week representing migrant mothers in asylum hearings in south Texas, and it just happened to be the week that the law on asylum changed four times in five days. It was both an honor and extremely challenging to be a witness on the ground and to write about the events of that week.
RISE ABOVE THE SWAMP
Reconcilliation with my war hero (2020)
This is more about my relationship with one of my brothers than my best writing. I still like it the most.
QUARKSTOMPER
Patriotic images of 9/11 (2016)
I tend to post weird stuff, and not always with much relevance to Kos’s Mission. I’ve posted about comic books, anime, Science Fiction, and obscure Bible stories. I selected this story, posted on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, because it’s about America, and touches on how I feel about patriotism. And it has a cartoon of mine that I was particularly proud of.
MOTHER MAGS
Catcher in the pie (2011)
I’ve been fortunate to have a number of diaries break that 500 rec benchmark and many others end up on the Rec List, especially during Arizona’s Joe Arpaio days. But one of my favorites has nothing to do with politics—it’s meta, when Kos went from version 3 to 4. I was up late at night, preparing a lesson on JD Salinger, and got into writing a diary as Holden Caulfield. To my surprise, even Kos rec’d it! It was fun. Gawd, it was 11 years ago! Took me a while to find. I noticed that the first commenter was a long-time member no longer with us. RIP Julie.
GREENANDBLUE
Anti-Capitalist Meetup: Thanks and praises, wishes and vows, and other such nonsense (2020)
Best thing I will probably ever write was posted here, though I’m happy to keep writing.
FRANK VYAN WALTON
Police have killed twice as many Americans since 9/11 than ISIS and Al Qaeda combined (2017)
I debated posting this because I think it's pretty subjective what anyone's “Best” may have been, I would probably have a different answer depending on the day but since this seems to be different from before today I would say this diary from 2017, when I used to be a front-pager, where I broke down a comparison of how many people are killed by police contrasted with all those who were killed on 9/11 and in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—considering how Colin Kaepernick was attacked for supposedly “disrespecting the troops." Maybe not the best, but probably one of the most important.
NANCYJONES
I like sex (2014)
I wrote this in the wake of the Hobby Lobby decision, and I think this is the best piece I’ve written here, though it’s really, really hard to say. In fact, some of my comments I think are better than some of my diaries. But with this one I surprised myself by the clarity I had in my thinking on the subject, which in the past had been very difficult for me to write or talk about because of reasons that philosophers and historians and social scientists have been trying to unravel for centuries. Anyway, I humbly submit it and I thank DK for being a place where I can occasionally reach clarity.
JUSJTIM35
I'm from the U.S. government and I'm here to help you (2011)
This was actually my first post on Daily Kos. I have written others that had more recommends or sat higher on the rec list, but this one remains my favorite. It’s actually not my best writing, but the story is so personal and effective (IMO) and ties in well to the Daily Kos liberal theme—making light of the old joke about the biggest lies ever told—that I have a soft spot in my heart for it. It was also the beginning of a huge change for the better in my life after struggling for well over a decade due to hearing loss. I think the story still resonates for people who need to know that help is out there if they need it.
ELLID
Books So Bad They’re Good: The Silence of the Peeps (2013)
It’s a) funny, b) true, and c) the Smith Science Fiction & Fantasy Society were still massacring marshmallow peeps every spring, at least before the pandemic hit.
And just like that … the wild ride that is This Is My Best is over. (For now, anyway.) But please do keep on writing, and remember: Better has no finish line. And please don’t forget that there are tons of members of the Community, along with myself, who are here to help with writing whenever they can. Daily Kos’ Community voices are so much of what makes this place the vibrant and powerful progressive gathering place that it is.
We’ve got 20 years behind us, friends, and so much more work to do. Let’s keep going … together. We’re so very glad you’re here.