(Dustin, this totally counts as a blog off post, because I’m talking about politics)
On Wednesday, I called my U.S. Congressional Representative. This was the first time in years that I picked up the phone, punched in some numbers and made an actual phone call to an elected official. The reason? I was urging him to vote YES on the Nadler Transit Amendment. And enough people voted yes that it passed the House. Not sure how Markey voted, it was a voice vote. On to the Senate!
What prompted this sudden call to civic action? While my daily battles with the MBTA are often chronicled on this here blog, funding for public transit infrastructure is not exactly my most soul stirring of issues (although it would make me the happiest of happy if they would put a real bus stop at the end of the street. Or at least shoveled so I didn’t have to wait for the bus in the morning with my knees stuck in a snowbank. Not that I’m bitter or anything). So, it wasn’t my overwhelming passion that prompted me to pick up the phone.
No, my call to action came from a much deeper place. My inner activist, long stifled by pessimism and feelings of helplessness has suddenly realized that, hey, things can change. Things are changing. And I might as well emerge from my bear cave, roll up my sleeves and pitch in.
Now, I’m not proud that I spent Bush’s last term in office focusing on other things (music, family, school, job, etc). Even if the fight looks hopeless, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go down trying. But I spent Bush’s first four years in office marching on Washington, writing editorials and making a ruckus. That, coupled with a non-profit job that left me so burnt out I resembled a charcoal briquette and I just didn’t have the energy.
But, hey, a new President, a new era, a new Hope? I’m thinking about a non-profit in Nepal that I want to do some fundraising for. And I definitely want to get more involved in politics beyond signing moveon.org petitions.
If this country is going to change, it’s because we all pitch in.
interesting! i was talking to another friend last night who just joined the cycling committee(or whatever they’re called, bike lanes and maps and traffic rules, etc) for the town of Somerville and he credited Obama and the general mood for making him feel like he should be more involved.
Hmmm, my post was about Blagojevich. Yours is simply about politics. I say that you my friend are losing the blog off. Especially with just slipping bacon explosion into the end of your post yesterday.