Become More Politically Active.

My favorite part of Obama’s acceptance speech, and how I’ve felt about this election:

“I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime—two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you—we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years—block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek—it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.”

Also, donate platelets and join bone marrow donor list

voting day is coming up soon. right now we are having a referendum to see if Ontario will vote for proportional representation- a most civilized democratic idea in my humble opinion. I hope it passes- so we can be more democratic like our most democratic friends in New Zealand (Picasso’s muse). I am shining up my voting shoes.

Every day with every book, news/magazine article, documentary and key life moment that I see I feel more and more compelled to learn more about the local, political and global communities. There’s too much that I don’t know, doesn’t make sense or just doesn’t seem right in this world to be satisfied with where I am in it.

Why is it when a global warning is issued my conservative father and friends immediately balk at the idea when they don’t research the subject on their own? Why do they defensively retort that everything changing is natural without being concerned about the immediate effects?

Why can foreigners still marry U.S. citzens for the sake of their own citizenship, but the “majority” of the nation feels that two individuals of the same sex in love would be destroying the sanctity of marriage? Why does my friend feel it’s ok to permanently vote away rights of others because they never had them in the first place?

Why does our country spend so much time in international communities creating policies and organizations only to back out of them thus screwing ourselves out of any position of leverage? Why is our name more associated with negative international press than positive?

Why are our schools still suffering and students and teachers constantly getting blamed? Why aren’t societies doing more to encourage them, as well as the key professions such as social work, fire and rescue and policing?

It’s not enough to go plugging through each day without some knoweldge, some search for facts without heavily glossed media headlines and biased opinions. It’s certainly not good enough when it comes time to vote, something I still have great faith in. Every year and every day is a good time for change. It starts with keeping an open mind and eye so that when the time comes the right decision, an educated one, will be made.

every year this week the president comes to Thessaloniki to make anouncements and everyone wants to protest.So big(i don’t know how it is called when you close the roads in order to walk on them to protest)organised and i participated.after a few hours the cups attacked us with chemicals for no reason.Chaos!We attacked them back with stones,molotov bombs and body to body battles.then we ran to the Univercity for asylum.And some of us burned about six cars and destroyed the hole place.I didn’t know them and i believe that it was provocated from the cups to blame us.It is unfair…(My english sucks,sory)

When I was volunteering on the Kerry campaign and joining others in peace rallys before Iraq, I felt such an amazing sense of community and of being alive; that I was doing something that really mattered. After the man who’s name won’t be spoken was “re-elected” I became so depressed and I went on a news fast and sort of dropped out of it altogether. I went back to focusing on my personal life and tried to put blinders on to the outside world. Sure I sent the inane emails to politicians and threw some money at various causes, but I didn’t really feel involved and that has not been a good feeling for me.

I boast about my views but hardly do much to help my political party be heard. I feel that it’s my duty if I feel as strongly as I do to say SOMETHING and help out.

...I’d say it’s worth doing.

However, when the candidate that you are whole-heartedly supporting (if this is your form of political involvement) turns out to be a lunatic, you feel really, really foolish. ;)