Thursday, November 04, 2004

Whoa Trigger!

Well, the election is over, and of course I have concerns. I would have had concerns, albeit different concerns, had it gone the other way. But now the choice has been made, and all of us have to live with it. That doesn't mean we have to live with it silently and do nothing about our concerns. There are things to do, and we are not helpless.

I am pretty sure that moving to Canada is not the solution, although that seems to be the knee-jerk solution of many Americans, according to CNN. Now, I like Cananda. It was on my FOR list a couple of blogs ago. I have even gone so far as to wonder aloud what it would be like to live there, as it seems like a nice safe place where one doesn't have to worry about earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, and Texas summer heat. Plus it has moose and eagles and snow. All things I really like. But think about it. Many of the things that cause concern regarding the Bush administration policies are going to affect the whole world, including Canada, so isn't it better to stay here and try to do something about it? I don't know, maybe I'm wrong and we're doomed. But I don't think so.

I am only one person, and I have to accept that I can't change the world, but here are some things I am going to do to at least be proactive. From experience, I know that idle bitterness never really gets me anywhere.
  • Learn about Islam and the Middle East
  • Pick up trash at the lake and in my neighborhood
  • model tolerence to those around me
  • go to sierra club meetings and become active in some way
  • save up for a hybrid car
  • think about education reform possibilities to propose to important people
  • try to represent positive American qualities when I am abroad
  • and maybe write some protest songs

It's not much, huh? But maybe I can do just a little bit of good and feel better about things. Otherwise, I am just troubled all the time. And it sucks to be troubled all the time.

I'd like to end by kicking a shout out to my friend Jamie McLeod who just won a seat on the City Council in Santa Clara, California. Congratulations, Jamie! Do some good stuff for people!

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