My mom is only familiar with Etsy.com because I have had a shop on that site for quite some time. I'm not sure that she's ever really explored the site more than to look at pictures of my stuff when I'm over there and want to show her something. The same is probably true of most of her friends and acquaintances. If you aren't already interested in the DIY "movement," it's probably hard to get excited about it. But believe me when I say that you should search for "Obama" on Etsy. The result is more than 800 items made by people whose passion for Obama's candidacy has inspired them to create something. To CREATE! (A search for McCain, by the way, yeilds only 107 items as of this writing. It might be more or less if you decide to look it up for yourself since items are added and sold all the time.)
We live in a mass-market consumerist society. Everything is disposeable and easily replaced with a "newer" or "better" model. I've often been asked, "What's the point of making that yourself? Can't you buy it at the big box store by the mall?" To many people, handmade looks primative, shoddy, messy, or cheap. The thing is, for those of us who embrace DIY, handmade is about having a relationship with the things that we use. Yeah, I can buy yarn, but I find pleasure in sitting in a quiet place with a drop spindle and wool and making my yarn myself. Sure, there are plenty of sweaters in the mall, but where were they made? Who did the work? What were they paid? Under what conditions did they work? Would the person who made the sweater be able to afford to buy it?
DIY is a re-birth, in some ways, of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th and 20th century. While the Arts and Crafts Movement was trying to address the soullessness of industrialized society, the DIY movement responds to the mindlessness of 21st Century consumerism. How better to be mindful of the items in your life, (their history and impact) than to craft them yourself?
I spent my Independence day weekend sporting a baseball cap that I'd made by needle-felting a wool patch featuring the Obama '08 logo and then stitiching it to a ball cap I had lying around. I've received quite a few comments. The one that comes up again and again is, "You must feel strongly about this to have made that yourself." I do feel strongly. I hope that you do as well.
So, here's my challenge to you. What talent or skill do you have that you could apply to expressing your commitment to this election? What can you make? Are you willing to invest not only the dollars in your checking account but a piece of your spirit, the work of your hands, and the time required to actually create something to reflect your thoughts and feelings about the goal of seeing Barack Obama elected president? Are you willing to show it off? Can you face the questions and the conversations that will inevetably follow? Think about it. DIY can be a powerful thing.
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