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30K for 30 Well Funded Days |
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30K for 30 Well Funded Days
I'm making a plea with you. Let's be sure that even if we can't volunteer, that this is the most well funded last thirty days of an election possible, so that we can find every vote for hope possible. Here's my story if you need a bit of motivation... 30K for 30 Well Funded Days... I grew up in rural Michigan, the kind of area that doesn't take all that kindly to change. Us northern Michigan folk tend to covet the status quo. I didn't really pay all that much attention to politics for a long time during those years... I played a few sports, was into music, went hunting and fishing, and went to school - but as I grew up, I noticed a sense that something was missing. Our family isn't wealthy, but we're not poor, and have been lucky in that regard. Life didn't present me a whole heck of alot of challenges, and in turn, I've found I've challenged myself. When I graduated from high school, I did well enough that I was given the chance to be the first on my father's side of the family to go to and finish college. I enrolled at the University of Michigan and took with it the tens of thousands of dollars of personal debt in college loans that came with it, and it was a decision I didn't take lightly. I was given a chance to do that which my Father had always wanted to do - and felt compelled to finish school, even when things got hard, because I'd taken ownership of my education, literally, not to mention not wanting to let myself down, let alone my Father. Perhaps more importantly, I was given an opportunity that many Americans don't have, not by choice, but by factors outside of their control. A chance that it saddens me, more people don't have, and that less and less people have access to these days. I'm voting for change because I decided to take on another challenge - after watching Senator Obama speak on TV at the 2004 Democratic Convention, I was amazed and completely enthralled. I was reminded of the stories my father, mother, grandfathers and grandmothers told me about hearing John F. Kennedy speak, about how he inspired the country as a whole to come together, not fight against one another, to tackle the problems we had. I'd since graduated, and taken a job at a locally owned business in Ann Arbor. I was doing pretty well for myself. I could have very easily just kept my nose down and kept doing what I was doing. Instead, I posed a challenge to myself. What I'd decided, is that helping to build hope for change in others was too important a load not to be beared. I needed to share this message of community building with others. We're too fractured, too hurried, and too in need of coming together to fix our economy, our job loss, all of the problems our nation faces to sit by idly. I took it upon myself to try to help convince people to not be scared of change, and to vote with their hopes for what they want to see America be, not upon the fears that certain individuals and groups try to instill in them. Most Americans agree that something is wrong with the direction we're headed. We need change. We may disagree on who may bring that change, but it is my firm belief that a new tone is needed in washington after 8 years of divisive politics. The problems hit too close to home. Too many of my friends are teachers who are dealing with cuts left and right, and too many friends are going out into the world and not finding jobs, or losing the ones they worked so hard to get. Every once in a while I get to visit my parents back in Traverse City, and it's heartbreaking to see on nearly every single street a house for sale, foreclosed on by the bank, businesses that once thrived either hanging on for dear life by a string, or hanging for sale signs in their windows. You can feel the pressures the towns I've lived in (Frankenmuth and rural Traverse City) face just strolling down the main drag. Vibrant tourism economies have dwindled - everyone is not as well off as they used to be. I have put my soul into the idea that we can do better. I firmly believe that we can find the change we need in communities we're reconnecting in this campaign, and with a leader whose mindset and approach to solving problems is rooted in this very idea. An idea, brought to a national and global level of re-building our communities from the inside out to help one another. So, for anyone wondering why I've been spending so much time trying to elect Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden... Change can only come if Main St. knocks on Washington's door, and we need leaders who recognize that. It's the same reason I want to ask you to consider doing all in your power to do the same. Register to vote if you haven't already. Take an opinion. Learn your local issues. Read up on the candidates and make a decision. Don't let CNN or Fox tell you what to do. Be active. Be engaged. The American dream is too important to lose. We all love our country, for better, or worse. We need the hope that we can move towards that communal goal of improving upon that which our forefathers gave us: freedom, economic prosperity, and a right to live with a vision of a place where we're not scared of where our next paycheck will come from, to not be scared into scuttling our dreams and hope by politicians who'd rather keep Washington the same as it has always been. Call me an idealist, but in these days, a little shared idealism can go a long way to helping America pull itself up by its bootstraps. If you want to know how to help out, go to www.barackobama.com, or feel free to ask me. Our national nightmare is an America who had the chance to make a say in their future and didn't speak up. If you feel passionately, help us translate that passion on to others. There's a million ways to get involved, and it's possible to find the time. Many of you know how busy I am, and I have found that time - and I'm hoping you will be able to as well. I don't make all that much money, but I have donated just under $1,000.00 to this campaign. I realize that times are definitely hard for us, but please consider even a small donation to move things forward. |
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