be more political

I don’t know about this one? I get too easily convinced by one side or the other… But I have decided to apply to help in the upcoming election which should be a good insight into how it all works.

I’ve become completely political. I mean 24/7. Up until May 6, I was still doing a little substitute teaching, but no more. I’m fulltime on the campaign trail, working to get my state assembly candidate elected. It was not the job I started out with back in February, nor is it the race I thought my candidate would be running. But in many ways, it is a better place to be. I’m more engaged, more needed, and more effective where I am right now.

As an example of how it’s going, Thursday we launched our campaign with a barbecue in a park, attended by several dozen supporters, two judicial candidates, a respected assemblyman, and the head of a local political club. A member of the local Teamsters union led the pledge of allegiance for us and a solar energy expert introduced our candidate with glowing praise. Yesterday we had coffee with the fellow who failed to win this election two years ago and got his views on what to do and not to do. Today we received the official endorsement of our state’s senior senator and the local constable at a union hall as we put together care packages for the troops overseas. You can’t get more politically involved than that.

I simply have not had time to blog or make entries on 43T the past couple of weeks because we were so busy with filing, campaign planning, attending events, getting ready for our kick-off party, setting up our database and website, ordering materials, signing up volunteers, soliciting contributions, phoning key contacts, preparing for endorsement interviews, getting briefing documents together, arranging meetings…. Seriously, I do not have time for anything else right now… not even following the presidential campaigns. And I love it!

Rarely do people get the opportunity to go this deep inside the political process. When there are closed door sessions, I’m inside the closed room, not out. I’ve brokered some power deals and played some strategic “games” already. This is the aspect of being political I dislike the most. I’d rather be knocking on doors and meeting voters. But politicking needs to be done, and it is something I am actually pretty good at.

For the next six months, the campaign owns me. It is good to be fully engaged and using the skills I’ve developed and training I’ve received over the years. All my experience is being put to use. It’s also good to be meeting all the “right” people, too. I could not possibly be “more political” than I am right now. All that’s left to do now is everything that needs to be done to claim victory on November 4th. The time is going to fly by very quickly, I just know it.

_{Note: The photo is of State Senator Dina Titus, running for Congress, the campaign I had originally hoped to be staffing. Although I’m not working on her campaign, she is strongly supporting my local candidate.}

Yesterday I bought nothing… I used my bus token, but if it’s pre-paid it might not count, eh?! Anyway, it’s been so warm here that I should be walking instead of taking the bus. Maybe I can allow myself bus rides on other days, but not on my NB-Days:-)

Well, I hope to buy nothing today as well. I have everything I need, and will be at the gym this evening… who knew exercise could serve the purpose of debt reduction and consumerist resistance:-)
Of course, I’m still using a “paid” service, but in this capitalist society no action can ever truly be “outside the system”. So I take my small victories:-)

My goal is to have at least 4 “No Buy” days a week.

I will try to only buy fairly traded products

I will try to buy locally produced products from locally owned businesses

I will try to curtail my consumption through such measures as frequent “No-Buy Days”

I will renew my efforts to participate in fair-trade advocacy efforts

I want to be less wasteful
I want to use biodegradable cleaners – I want to start using vinegar and baking soda (not together!) for cleaning around the house
I want to continue to resist buying a car, and walking and using public transport for my needs
I want to be more political about this—sign petitions, try to get hooked up with movements and campaigns
It is important and noble, but not enough, to make a personal change to honor one’s commitment to a cause like the sustainability of the environment. But it is, I think, as important to be political about it, esp. as someone living in the US, which has one of the worst records of environmental protection, is reluctant to ratify protection treaties, and whose policies and actions have caused environmental destruction in so many parts of the world.

I don’t know if I can say I have finished this yet – but I have become more political by reading a variety of articles at sites like newsvine.com and alternet.org

It is difficult to really find “balanced” articles that aren’t full of venom towards one side of an issue.