I agree. Years ago, when moveon was mobilizing for the 2004 election, I did get involved for the same reasons as you say. It is important. While there, I met a woman who'd worked in the GI coffee house movement and who became part of a Notre Dame outfit that helped draftees escape to Canada. She wasn't there to radicalize so much, but it was good to meet her. Together, we took a bunch of kids in our neighborhood to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911.
It's why I've associated with the heavily moveon based outfit here, a GI coffee house in the tradition of the Vietnam era coffee houses.
But, sometimes, I use LBO as a bitching lounge. I come here, like a teacher goes to the teacher's lounge, bitching about students. They get it off their chest and go right back out there on the front lines doing the best job they can do, putting up with essays that contain "u" and "r" and emoticons. :) har har and they try to remember it's not a moral failing of their students.
OTOH, i also grew up in a town that had been targeted by those folks who thought that the real action was for radicals to move into small factory towns like mine, work alongside us as one of "duh people", so they could radicalize us. I had my fill of that wankery, too. as muchas they meant well, they could be ..uh... nice words escape at the moment.
I think you get my drift -- that it's a fine line to walk, doing that sort of thing.
shag