Help For America

1. Donate.

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Increase your donations (of time and/or money) to charities that assist people in need. The Charity Navigator web site contains information and ratings for many common charities.

Also donate to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), which is often the only legal voice supporting the rights of “the little guy”.

2. Stay informed.

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Stay aware of the important bills and issues being discussed on capitol hill and communicate your views to your senators and representatives often. You pay their salaries; let them know what you think! You can find out who your congresspeople are and how to contact them at Congress.org.

3. Act locally.

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Don’t wait for Washington to do the important work! Many gains can still be made locally, in spite of the national Republican majority. If you wish the government would do more to create peace in the world, then take steps to create peace in your community. Instead of waiting for the government to start caring about the environment, find out how local companies affect the environment and pressure them to clean up their act. If you want health coverage for more people, think of ways you could make that happen locally, even if only for a few. Resources:

Grassroots For America -- Helping grassroots organizations.
Grass-roots.org -- Inspiring stories of innovative grassroots programs.
Grassroots Fundraising -- Raising money to do what you need to do.

4. Spread the word.

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Find (or create!) a well-written, inspiring book that makes a strong case for tolerance, environmental stewardship, liberal social choices, peaceful politics, etc. and share it with as many people as possible. Make sure your local library has a copy. Some suggestions:

Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch
Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan
Eco-Pioneers by Steve Lerner

5. Vote with your money.

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Try to support companies that are committed to upholding the values you feel are important. Boycott companies whose owners embrace right-wing politics. Invest in “social choice” mutual funds. Resources:

Opensecrets.org -- Contains lists of corporate political contributions.
Socialfunds.com -- Information on socially responsible investing.

7. Write letters to the editor.

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Write articulate, passionate, and inspiring letters to the editor of your local newspaper about the issues you consider important.

6. Use the electoral college to your advantage.

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Because of the way our national voting system is organized, a candidate can win the presidency even if he or she does not win a majority vote in the election. This is because each state has a number of “electoral votes”, and if a candidate wins a majority in that state, they get all of that state’s electoral votes. So, if you happen to live in a heavily republican or heavily democratic state, you might consider moving to one of the battleground states (Ohio, Florida, Iowa, etc.) before 2008.

8. Increase the amount of compassion in the world.

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Be a model of compassion and tolerance to others. The Avatar Compassion Exercise is a good way to increase compassion. Use it yourself regularly, and hand out copies to others. You can find it in the book Resurfacing by Harry Palmer, or on the internet by searching Google for “Avatar Compassion Exercise”, or try this link: www.speedreadingworld.com/avatar/try_avatar.html

9. Vote in 2006.

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We don’t have to wait 4 years for change! Congressional elections are in two years and that’s a great time to reverse the current Republican majority. In fact, gaining a strong Democratic majority in congress may be just as effective as having a Democrat for president.

10. Contribute your thoughts.

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Post your own insights and resources here, and share this blog with your fellow Democrats!

Start a Thoughtstorm group to generate more ideas (the Thoughtstorm Manual is available from the Avatar bookstore).