This past week the candidate of 'change,' Barack Obama, has solidified his standing as a conservative democrat.
He now supports wiretapping immunity, has back-pedaled on withdrawal from the Iraq war, and spoken in favor of giving federal money to religious charities.
None of these things are consistent with the hopes of liberal activists, which begs the question:
What should they hope for anyways?
Here is my answer: You shouldn't pin your hopes on one candidate and one campaign. Real change starts right where you are, in your own neighborhoods and communities.
And that gets to the heart of the problem: The majority of Americans only think of national politics if they think of politics at all.
And at the national level it is just too damn hard to have any real impact.
Enter cynicism....the result of feeling powerless.
But you are not powerless.
And that is because you can have a real impact by actively engaging in your local political community.
If you want change, ignore the presidential election...
And start changing your community by volunteering for local candidates, becoming a local candidate yourself, getting involved in local political organizations, starting your own organization, or simply making sure your neighbors are registered to vote.
You might be surprised how easy it is to become a member the 'central committee' to your local Republican/Democratic party. From there you can have a serious impact.
All of this focus on national politics is largely a waste of time.
It is NOT a waste of time to focus on your community.
Yes, we may 'hope' that Barack Obama will be a good president, but that is beyond our control, and if we focus all our political energy on him then we will be left with nothing but cynicism.
If you really want to embrace 'hope' then become active in your local political scene.
He now supports wiretapping immunity, has back-pedaled on withdrawal from the Iraq war, and spoken in favor of giving federal money to religious charities.
None of these things are consistent with the hopes of liberal activists, which begs the question:
What should they hope for anyways?
Here is my answer: You shouldn't pin your hopes on one candidate and one campaign. Real change starts right where you are, in your own neighborhoods and communities.
And that gets to the heart of the problem: The majority of Americans only think of national politics if they think of politics at all.
And at the national level it is just too damn hard to have any real impact.
Enter cynicism....the result of feeling powerless.
But you are not powerless.
And that is because you can have a real impact by actively engaging in your local political community.
If you want change, ignore the presidential election...
And start changing your community by volunteering for local candidates, becoming a local candidate yourself, getting involved in local political organizations, starting your own organization, or simply making sure your neighbors are registered to vote.
You might be surprised how easy it is to become a member the 'central committee' to your local Republican/Democratic party. From there you can have a serious impact.
All of this focus on national politics is largely a waste of time.
It is NOT a waste of time to focus on your community.
Yes, we may 'hope' that Barack Obama will be a good president, but that is beyond our control, and if we focus all our political energy on him then we will be left with nothing but cynicism.
If you really want to embrace 'hope' then become active in your local political scene.
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