Election Response and a Challenge

I am turning 30 next summer so I made a "30 before 30" list the day before I turned 29. #21 was "Make an informed vote this November".  Seriously, what was I thinking?  This political season has been overwhelming.  I read the news articles, the "for" and "against" statements, I submitted a letter to the editor, I watched the debates, campaigned to reject a local proposition, and read the ENTIRE voter's pamphlet (I am convinced that most voters have their minds made up before they get the pamphlet.)  As I see the results pouring in, I am shocked and disappointed and happy all at the same time.

To quote our dear friend, Alex, "can one person really make a difference?".  These same sentiments are reflected in Switchfoot frontman, Jon Foreman's, article in AP Magazine which was published the day before the election:

Every day our sensationalist media spit out new reasons as to why we should be afraid. We look to the political system for solutions, for leadership, for hope. But let's not forget that these politicians are only human. After all, could one man save us from our financial crisis? Could one man change the discretionary spending and saving patterns of millions of individuals and corporations around the globe? ... The fact is, it's not just the corporations who are greedy; we're all overcommitted ... Every day you cast your ballot—with your time, with your money and with your actions. You vote for the president once every four years. But what about the 1,460 days in between?

Foreman goes on to say that YOU are America, YOU are democracy and YOU have the power to make this country what it should be.  Beautiful, inspiring, and scary words.

I pledged today that I want to do my part to make America great.  I want to focus on #8 of my "30 before 30" list:  Do some local mission work.  It's not the government's job to feed the hungry.  It's my job.  Whether all your votes passed or whether they all failed - it really doesn't matter.  We have a responsibility to each other.  We might be on a tight budget but this morning I frivolously spent $40 on groceries that I could easily share.  I am so inspired by Carina's Baking it to the Streets and I want to copy her. She wants YOU to copy her!  So, do it.  Make a difference.

In the over-used but significant words of Gandhi:  "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."