sometimes i think, too, that just being a member of your neighborhood could be enough. like, know your neighbors. be involved in your own life that is happening around you.

Great post…I totally agree about everyone chipping in and getting involved!
When I was in high school (in Austin) my big sis and I did a homeless breakfast every thursday morning. It was at a local church. We got up at 5:30 and helped cook and then serve 20-30 homeless men who were picked up from the drag and downtown area. It was so rewarding. Some of these people who you might judge from your car (sounds bad, but you know we all do it!) had the most interesting lives!

Well, I must say, I am delighted to hear that racism has been eradicated now that Obama has been elected. I didn’t think it’d be that easy.

I know exactly how you feel, Sarah. The greatest thing about this election, for me, is not that Obama is awesome (though he is), but that he inspires me to maybe be a little bit awesome, like, once a week, or every other Tuesday. If he can be Level 11 Awesome and Inspiring, I can at least try to bump my own awesome amp up to, like, level 2, you know?

Sarah – I totally agree! I was super proud of myself throughout the campaign for donating a few times, but when it came time for me to actually volunteer for the campaign, I was like “eh – I don’t really have time to do that now” but that was totally a lie – I had time – I was just lazy

I don’t know if I can take on something like the Big Brother Big Sister program – it sounds amazing and exciting, but that’s a little intimidating for me. I have a lot of friends that have volunteered at Yellow Bike (building bikes, organizing, blah-di-blah) and as far as community volunteer work goes, I think it’s pretty awesome. I mean, you’re not feeding the poor or housing homeless children, but it’s promoting a cleaner environment through a healthier, more active community by promoting bikes instead of vehicles. And sure, there are some bike snobs there that’ll think you’re less cool because you drove your car to yellow bike – whatevs – anyway – thats all I got

I agree, but I have had some mixed experiences with volunteering. And now that I feel like I’ll be in London at least, like, a year, I should start–I haven’t before but have wanted to. Good post.

I also think it is my duty to start reading (the more rational) Republican anti-Obama blogs, news sources, etc. I obsessively track down bad stuff about Bush, I should at least attempt to read those who do the same about someone I supported. Any good suggestions?

Dude, I totally feel the same way. I’ve been on a kick since the election of cleaning out my house of all the things I don’t actually need (old clothes, extra blankets, etc.) and taking them to goodwill, because I feel like that is what Obama would want me to do! There’s a LOT to be said for leading by example, and I feel like that’s what he’s doing. He’s setting an example for all of us to follow and aspire to be like.
Also, shout out to Liz Feldman! She’s hilarious, and her video on funny or die for “John McCain’s Mother endorses McCain” cracks me up. “Why is there hot water on my feet?”

It is SO great to read this post and the comments and realize that everyone is feeling the same way. The bargain you mentioned, Sarah, is precisely how I feel. I used to be really good about being active and volunteering, particularly in political movements–I dedicated TONS of time to the anti-war effort, and then when Bush was re-elected and the war totally happened anyway, I became sort of cynical and apathetic and bitter. Now that things are going my way, I need to do my part! I’m really interested in doing volunteering for The Trevor Project, an operation that offers counseling and services for gay, bi, lesbian, transgender and questioning youth:

http://www.thetrevorproject.org/home2.aspx

And since Matt and I got off totally scotfree from Hurricane Ike (up to and including getting a free week off work, never losing power and my firewall at work getting destroyed), I want to do some Habitat for Humanity stuff, as well.

We’ve always been really good about donating money to various organizations and efforts, but that’s kind of the most half-ass way we can give back. To borrow a quote from The Onion during the darkest of the Bush administration: “They say you get the government you deserve. The thing is, I don’t remember knife-raping any retarded nuns.” Now that things are looking up, I want to actually deserve this government!

Hear hear!!

I was explaining to some of my family about how we have to spread the wealth around because we, as communities, don’t take care of those in need. If we did, we wouldn’t need so many government programs. But while I was explaining all this, I thought, well I could at least start getting involved in my community. I have been pondering what to do though since my time is really limited (we drive so far to work everyday). I would love to work in a soup kitchen for the holidays. I would love to work with young kids and help to empower them. I WOULD LOVE to help plant organic gardens in low-income neighborhoods.

KUT always features some really cool volunteer programs. I would reccomend starting there and see what is out there. Or there is a volunteer website, volunteer.org I think…

Thanks Posh for an awesome post.

I think it’s important to keep in mind that “forming coalitions with people that are different than you is radical,” and the only way that our nation will heal itself is by voluntarily integrating our communities, not just through volunteering, but through everyday interactions with each other. Even volunteer work can be ineffective if we go into it with the wrong attitude, especially one that permits us to assume that the people we’re serving have nothing to offer us. We have to start acting like we believe in equality.