So, what are you going to do today to make change happen? What sacrifices are you willing to make? I've been thinking about this question for the last couple of days and I was surprised to see in today's New York Times editorial a call to arms for all of those who worked so hard to elect Barack Obama president. We have momentum and organization, we have energy and enthusiasm, we have focus and a big forum. It would be a shame to waste all of that energy on narrow, unfocused priorities. http://www.nytimes.com/...
Since the election, I've seen diaries focused on 2010, 2011, and 2012. But what about the rest of 2008 and 2009? What about the economic crisis at hand? What can we do right now, today, to affect the change we have called for? Must we wait on Obama to get to Washington? Or, can we start meaningful change at the personal, local, and community level? I am trying to define this for myself and I found myself wondering if others we thinking about this too.
Can we for example, raise money to help those who are facing foreclosure, loosing their jobs, or help returning vets jump start their lives?
Can we as individual take real meaningful ways to reduce our daily, personal independence on foreign oil? There's been a lot of talk about reducing our carbon footprint, changing light bulbs, driving less, but is there something more significant we can be doing? Who in our community knows about this? Is it even worth it or should we simply wait on big sweeping policy changes?
What can we do to begin to pressure the health care industry to make changes in the way they operate? We have read numerous stories right here on Dkos about the horrific decision made by insurance companies to deny or delay coverage for desperately needed care. Can we push for meaningful legislation at the local or state level? Can we boycott? Can we push these stories to the MSM with the same insistence we pushed stories during the campaign to get them noticed and reported?
How can we keep up the pressure on the media to provide meaningful and intelligent coverage of the transition and Obama's early days?
What are YOUR ideas for change? Who should lead change? How does real change get started? Or, do we just sit around and wait for Obama to lead us?
If the discussion focuses on four or five ideas for change, I will follow up with a diary on the top ideas and the possible ways suggested to begin change (with attribution for those offering up the ideas). Let's see what we can get going.