My "diary" is really currently my blog over at the Obama For America site. However, I'd like to augment my link to that site with this appeal for donations:
Let's Make it Happen!
Invest in our future
I've worked for over a decade to educate myself and others about the depth and danger of corruption in the highest levels of our government. This corruption has separated our leaders from the voters — in terms of both interests and accountability. The consequences of these developments have grown more obvious with each passing year. One of those consequences has been a growing level of disinterest and cynicism about politics, along with a shrinking level of citizen engagement in the political process. These natural, but destructive responses have only served to accentuate the problem.
The primary source of this corruption is obviously money. A few people have a whole lot of it, and they use it to manipulate elections and legislative processes, exploiting the cost of getting elected.
Barack Obama has somehow managed to rise to his current level without excessive indebtedness to the same dominant financial interests that control most of the political discourse in this country, and people have responded. The remarkable popular support that has driven and financed his current campaign has only strengthened his independence from the usual sources. We have not seen this level of independence in a Presidential candidate since JFK - and he obviously didn't do it with financing from the public. So in that respect, Obama's independence is even more remarkable.
Big donors to campaigns all have a sense of ownership of that candidate's political career. Whether deliberate and conscious or not, the candidate/office holder shares that same sentiment on some level, especially as re-election time nears.
The "Big Donors" to Barack Obama's are the small donors. The bigger the total of funds that comes from those small donors, the greater their "ownership" of an Obama Administration and more importantly, the higher the level of confidence will be to fight those interests who seek self-enrichment at all costs in Washington. That confidence will not just be limited to the Administration - it will make itself felt in the Congress, as well - emboldening those "good" legislators who want to fix our country to act, and stay strong in the face of withering corporate media attacks. That spirit will begin to penetrate the culture of the bureaucracy, as well, but it will take time to reverse the damage done over the past sixty years.
As the Berlin Wall fell, and Soviet Communism crumbled under its own weight nearly 20 years ago, one citizen in the street being interviewed by the press, offered what I think should become one of the more famous quotes of all time:
"In the end, we all get the government we deserve."
In truth, the American people have been deliberately deceived, and officials - elected and otherwise - have abused power. But truly, America has done this to itself, by failing to shoulder the responsibility inherent in democracy: engagement. Critical analysis has too often been replaced by blind trust, because it is easier. Action has too often not been taken, because of all sorts of reasons. Financial commitment has not been made, because (fill in whatever excuse you want.)
Over the past quarter century, the most engaged segment of the population has been the right-wing "Christian" fanatic pushing an incredibly reactionary agenda. I think the results speak for themselves.
This is the core principle of the Obama campaign - one that most naysayers simply do not understand. President Obama is not going to fix anything by himself. He will need OUR involvement to continue beyond the election, in order to accomplish anything. Unlike most candidates, Barack Obama actually wants (and needs) ordinary citizens to do more than just vote for them and go away.
We are not electing a savior, we are electing a partner.
We now are faced with an historic combination of circumstances that simply scream for citizen engagement:
1. Unpopular and illegal war going badly
2. Disintegrating economic conditions
3. potential catastrophic environmental and energy situations
4. Massive disaffection with government, and a clear desire for a change in direction
5. An historically independent candidate for President, seeking to enable those very changes.
We may never see such an opportunity again. If we do, I can promise, things will be much worse then than they are now.
So, what are you waiting for?
My goal is to raise at least $5000 toward this effort. (The campaign suggested starting with a goal of $1000, but that does not accurately reflect the level of urgency I place on this campaign. If I could, I'd raise $100,000. Honestly, I was going to set it there, but I thought it would look a little presumptuous when the thermostat is sitting at zero.)
Will you please make a donation to help reach that goal?
Any donation, from $10 to $2500, makes a difference. The campaign will soon have 1.5 million donors. That is a lot of donors, but considering the number of people who stand to benefit (about 90% of Americans) it ought to be closer to 15 million.
So please, grab a credit card, and donate whatever you can afford today. I promise it will be money well spent intelligently INVESTED.
Thank you!
