Those of you who know me personally or who know my work around here, know that I am not so much a blogger, as a commenter and reader. You also know that I am a field rat and that I have been doing pro bono field work for Democratic candidates since I first did advance for Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. (No lip, please, about Mrs. Ferraro. When I worked for her, she was the first female vice-presidential candidate of a major party, and if you were not alive or interested in politics at that time, or if you've lost your memory and can only think anachronistically now, it was a very big deal, especially for an ivy-educated twenty-something who was (is?) a practical/pragmatic feminist and had an entire lifetime of aspirations and dreams ahead of her. 'Nuf said.)
As an activist who came to blogging secondarily, there are days and even months when the focus and tenor of this site frustrate me beyond words. I know that there is a place in the activist spectrum for all kinds of activities and engagement, ranging from amplifying to influencing to informing and more. And I recognize that there is an important role for the kind of interactive discourse that takes place on Daily Kos. In fact, I think about these issues all the time, as I encourage and mentor kossacks in the journey from blogger/ranter/screamer/shouter to actor. But still, I am often disappointed and frustrated at my inability to be able to reach more fellow kossacks and get them to take even small steps towards the kind of activism that actually changes minds and turns votes.
In my family, we have a tradition that you actually ask for whatever it is that you want for your birthday each year, so that nobody has to guess, or maybe more important, spend scads of money and time, sussing out the "perfect" gift, only to make a big mistake. We are nothing if not practical :-)
I am extending that tradition to my online family this year, and asking for a karmic birthday present today from all of you. So, what I want most of all for my birthday this year, is that everyone reading this diary takes one small step towards actually helping pass health care reform. Pleeeease.
My list of possible steps does not include commenting on Daily Kos (except for below in this diary), nor does it include saying something that has been said a hundred times before -- just not by you :-) It does not include posting a diary with multiple exclamation points in the title, nor does it include posting the third or fourth or fifth diary on "breaking" news that has hit the headlines on the Huffington Post or MSNBC. It also does not include commenting or diarying on every left, right, start, stop, zag or zig coming out of the rumor mill during the course of the day. And finally, hang-wringing is out and so is nihilism. It's a downer and it's my birthday, so I get to make the rules.
So if all of the knee-jerk (re)actions are out, what's would make this my best birthday ever?
I would be thrilled if you would:
Go to my.barackobama.com (now known as Organizing for America) and commit to canvass in your neighborhood for health care reform. Give an hour of your time. An hour of your time for our children and our children to come. Knock on ten doors (easily done in an hour) and mobilize the one or two people who will be home and help us grow this movement. This is the single most effective way that we reach voters. Each one, reach one. We did it when we wanted folks to vote last year. Now we want them to "vote" with their voices, and this is the best way to do that. Hands down.
Go to my.barackobama.com (now known as Organizing for America) and make five phone calls for health care reform. It will take you about three minutes. Seriously. Most people won't be home, so you'll most likely only have a conversation or two. You'll be calling former campaign volunteers and mobilizing them to volunteer, too, and getting a read on their position on health care policy. This is how we did it during the election, and this is how we will do it again -- now. We apply pressure by building an army of supporters and lots of the folks that we need to reach are not blogging on Daily Kos or reading Firedoglake or the Huffington Post.
Commit to attending a town hall or visiting your representative or senator. You can search for events here (bottom left of page) and report back on them here.
Donate to the groundbreaking program that is rewarding progressives for standing firm in their commitment to the public option. It has been diaried extensively over the last twenty-four hours on Daily Kos. Click on this link and put your money where your mouth is -- literally. We have approximately 250,000 registered users on Daily Kos, and millions more eyeballs a day on this site. If only the registered users each kicked in $1, we would be on the way to tripling the funds raised since yesterday.
I don't spend a lot of time on Daily Kos trying to convince bloggers to take specific action steps because it is a long, hard slog and I am often out in the field during campaign season. But today is an exception, and as this community is indefatigably generous of spirit, I am hoping that shamelessly fishing for birthday wishes will bring a boatload of gifts -- both in action and in words. Your gifts to me are really a present for all of us. And who doesn't love presents?
I'll be around most of the afternoon and evening, like a good hostess at my online party, so please comment below, commit to doing something specific, and say something nice, too, so that I can thank you for both :-)
P.S. If you don't know how to get started, can't find anything in your neck of the woods, or just need some encouragement or guidance, let me know below and I (and other action-oriented community members) will pop in with moral and practical support. No need to be shy. We do it all the time :-)