[First diary for me, so there will be plenty of mistakes. Please be kind.]
Eight years ago, I considered myself to be politically active. I voted in every election, read up on referendums a couple weeks before the vote to make sure I was making wise choices, and was a proud Democrat.
I simply had no idea what it means to be politically active eight years ago.
Over the Bush years, obsession with politics has come to consume my life. Thinking about our country's international standing, the horror of torture, loss of privacy, corporate malpractice...I reached the point this fall where I would spend at least a couple hours a day reading Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, and others. When I wasn't reading, I was worrying. Constant, wake up in the middle of the night with a start worry. In the past few years, I have served on the local school board, volunteered as an election official, and donated to a dozen candidates. But the time I spent involved in politics pales in comparison to the time I spent frightened, angry, and obsessed with what was happening politically.
My first reaction to Obama's election was enormous (and selfish) relief. I am so tired of having to think so much about the incompetence and corruption of public officials. I know it will not be an easy or quick path, but I am finally confident that we are on the road to honest, fair government. I feel like I have my life back. I am already getting more balance, and have more time for hobbies, plans, family and friends who were neglected.
And yet...I don't want to go back to the days when "politically active" meant paying a bit of attention for a week or two every two years. I also don't want to live like I have for years, obsessing over every bill and vote and Lieberman's committee assignments and what meeting room was given to a Democratic subcommittee and who voted against cloture (a term not in my vocabulary eight years ago)... My challenge - is it possible to become more politically active, yet let go of the obsession and spend less time on the blogs?
This week, I hope I found my answer. In the Year of Living Charitably blog, a family makes a commitment to do one charitable act a day. Simple things, like helping a senior citizen with shopping carts and donating old eyeglasses to services for the poor. What's inspiring about the blog is that so many of the charitable actions take only 5-10 minutes a day.
So. That's my commitment, starting this week. One political action a day:
Monday - Phoned my senators about the stimulus package (5 minutes)
Tuesday - Emailed two friends with the senator's phone numbers and asked them to call (5 minutes)
Wednesday - Put Obama buttons on my winter coats in hopes of striking up more conversations (5 minutes)
Thursday - Wrote this diary (one hour)
I'll still make donations as a piece of my political activity. But I'm planning to finally read more of the action item diaries here to get ideas for my one act a day, and I hope I spend less time reading and refreshing the diaries on the scandal of the day. Was the back and forth over Caroline Kennedy's possible Senate nomination really worth two hours of my time? I could have taken 10-20 actions in the time it took to read those diaries.
What suggestions do you have of 5-10 minute political acts each day? I would love to have a list of possibilities for days when nothing instantly springs to mind.
Thanks in advance for your ideas.