50 Ways to Love Your Country

Áine on May 26th, 2004 filed in Black Raven Books

50 Ways to Love Your Country is a book written by members of MoveOn.org, a flourishing online activist group whose website has been, for me, a great source of information about becoming more actively involved in and aware of what’s going on in the United States. This book promises to be a “How-To guide for fixing our broken democracy.” Written by MoveOn members across the country, from Hawaii to Maine, from political figures to teachers, each essay shares a compelling personal story and most include an action item with resources for taking inspiration a step further. Simple ideas are illuminated, such as “His Last Vote,” about a dying man’s wish to cast a ballot, as are more dynamic actions, such as “Start a Petition,” which chronicles a couple’s quest to protect wolves from trappers in Alaska. MoveOn’s 50 Ways to Love Your Country answers the question that more and more citizens are asking: “What can I do?”

50 Ways to Love Your Country
Inner Ocean Publishing
ISBN 1-930722-29-X
$10.95 cover ($8.76 through Amazon)
Trade paper

“Cesar Chavez once said the organizer’s job is to help ordinary people do extraordinary things. Involving masses of people in a movement to right wrongs and change government policy is what democracy is all about. No one is doing it better today in America than Moveon.org. MoveOn’s 50 Ways to Love Your Country is a vital primer for every activist interested in progressive social change.” — (via Amazon Reviews) Arturo S. Rodriguez, President, United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO

*Update (11PM) : After much thought, I’m putting my money where my mouth is… I’ve signed up with Veterans for Kerry, and I’ve written a Letter to the Editor of my local newspaper (Ironwood Daily Globe). I may not agree with everything on John Kerry’s campaign platform, but I think my country deserves better leadership than it currently has, and I see John Kerry as the viable option at this point. Splitting our votes among other parties and candidates is not the way to get Bush and his cronies out of office. Solidarity is the only way.

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4 Responses to “50 Ways to Love Your Country”

AP Says:
May 27th, 2004 at 8:28 pm
Kerry doesn’t support gay marraiges but he also does not support making the Constitution a discriminatory document (unlike a certain bigot holding the office now). This, and many other reasons, are why he will receive my vote.
Aine Says:
May 30th, 2004 at 12:06 am
Personally, I don’t think the issue of Gay marriage should be of any concern of the Federal government, and although Our Employee is trying to make it a Federal concern, marriage has traditionally been a matter of States’ rights. Federalizing everything (like privatizing everything) is not the solution, and will only lead to a further degradation of States’ Rights.
lughshand Says:
June 27th, 2004 at 4:04 am
Marriage is only a word. The real question for me, and one I ask whenever the subject comes up, is this. How is that two people, vowing to live stable, commited lives, are going to make the country a worse place? Those who are gay or lesbian (though I don’t really understand why there’s a gender difference), are defined in their existance by a purely sexual standard. Adding the concept of a loving and stable relationship, should only broaden the view society has of them, in a positive way.
Aine Says:
June 27th, 2004 at 11:01 am
Exactly… and as far as I’m aware of, the ability or success of procreation of children is not a factor in legitimizing marriage under the laws. The States recognize marriage whether there are children produced or not.

Marriage is, to me, more an affair of the heart and spirits of the people involved, and I believe they are the only ones qualified to define what their marriage is and what it means to them.