90 Days 90 Reasons is a great place to go for reminders of what we are fighting for this year, and why it is so important.
90 Days, 90 Reasons is an independent initiative unaffiliated with Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. 90 Days, 90 Reasons was conceived by two guys originally from Chicago, Dave Eggers and Jordan Kurland. In late July, they looked around and saw that many of Obama’s voters and donors from 2008 needed to be reminded of all he has accomplished, and all he will do if given another term. They asked a wide range of cultural figures to explain why they’re voting for Obama in 2012, in the hopes that this might re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place. Every day, a new reason will be posted—in short, Twitter form, with a longer essay available here. Please spread the word.
Today's reason is written by Emily Barton:
"Emily Barton is the author of the novels Brookland and The Testament of Yves Gundron. She teaches at Yale and in the graduate writing program at NYU."
REASON 40: BECAUSE I LOVE THE SOCIAL CONTRACT.
I'm voting for Barack Obama because I love the social contract—and I know he does, too.
You remember the social contract from school, right?
Say you’re an early human, living out on the taiga in a small clan. You’ve just killed and butchered a caribou. But with no government to protect you, your bigger, stronger neighbor can come along, conk you over the head, and take it away; he can also rape your daughters while he’s at it, and you have no means of redressing these wrongs. That’s what Thomas Hobbes calls the “Natural Condition of Mankind”—a life that’s “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Hobbes argues that, as individuals and in aggregate, we are better off if we give up some of our natural rights to governments in order to gain the security of our persons and property.
Though it might seem that “signing the social contract” was something that happened in the deep past, to our prehistoric ancestors, we renegotiate this contract every day. When we agree to obey the speed limit, or not to text while driving, these are extensions of the social contract. We’re giving up individual, and I would say “selfish,” pleasures in favor of the common good—which might even turn out to be our own good.
Right now, you may be saying: Wait a minute; whatever his other failings, I’m sure Mitt Romney supports traffic law. But the social contract is more than that: a reminder that we’re part of a society, with all the rights and responsibilities attached to that. A civil society protects all of its members, including the smallest and least powerful.
According to CNN, President Obama is looking good in the battleground states as well as nationally:
Which backs up Nancy Pelosi's claim that Romney is not going to be President and that everybody knows that. Go Nancy! But she also makes clear in this interview with Candy Crawley that if the GOP gains control of the Senate and keeps control of the House, we will continue to have problems with Republican Obstructionism. That is why we have to support Speaker Pelosi Project as well as the re-election of the President.
Election Diary Rescue is published daily to highlight the diaries here at Daily Kos that focus on these all important down ticket races.
Finally, from Obama for America comes this ad that attacks Mitt Romney's ties to China:
Link to Transcripts and Documents.
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Volunteer at Obama For America to help register voters and participate in GOTV events. And check with your state Democratic Party office to find volunteer opportunities.
Share two sites that help voters in each state:
Gotta Register generates a voter registration form for your state; Gotta Vote explains how to vote early, how to find your polling place, and what to bring when voting in each state. Voters can also download convenient checklists with all of that information and sign up for voting-related reminders.
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