Don’t just Boot Bush – Reboot

It’s pretty clear that the American people want to boot Bush & Co. out of the Whitehouse. Barack Obama’s message of change absolutely resonated in Iowa, stunning the country with an astounding win. Even on the Republican side, the insurgent who criticized the President’s “bunker mentality” beat the corporate Bush-apologist in Iowa. Change has been the recurring theme of this campaign so far. However, I think we need more than change. We need to not just boot out Bush: we need to reboot the system.

Let’s face it. If any of the Democrats are elected, change will come. There is little doubt that Barack Obama, John Edwards or Hillary Clinton would change some of the Bush policies. Let’s be honest here. If you read the position papers of all three Democrats, you will find that most of the differences in position are tinkering around the edges. The core messages are the same. Healthcare is broken and needs to be fixed. The environment is in crisis and must be healed. Education is weak and has to be supported.

We also need to restore America’s standing in the world. The pictures of Abu Ghraib still circulate on the internet as inspiration for would-be terrorists. The Bush Administration has held prisoners without trial, based on secret evidence, while Bush hides behind a veil of “state secrets” and executive privilege. It is shameful.

One difference between Barack Obama and his Democratic rivals is his ability to not just change the reputation of America in the world, but to reset it, to give us a fresh start, to reboot the political system. The election of Barack Obama as president does more than continue the conversation with different players and an altered message. It completely changes the context of the conversation.

There are times when a system doesn’t just need to close the old programs and open new ones. Until we completely reset the system, there are programs that can continue to run in the background unnoticed. We need to reboot with Obama.

I Laughed. I Cried. It Changed My Life

I’m sitting in the living room of a total stranger. This might be weird enough, but we’re watching a movie staring Al Gore. Imagine that - a movie starring Al Gore giving a PowerPoint presentation on Global Warming. I can barely suppress a yawn while thinking about it. But nonetheless, here I am in this person’s living room, watching this movie and I am...laughing. Now that’s something I didn’t expect.

In fact, An Inconvenient Truth is just the opposite of what I expected. Someone in the room just commented “Where the hell has this guy been?” Al Gore is animated (if you can imagine that), passionate and at times, yes, funny.

A few minutes later, as Gore is telling the story of his six-year-old son’s near-death experience, I find my self crying. I’m not usually one for crying at movies (though the ending for “It’s a Wonder Life” gets me every time). I also cried one other time, when Gore talked about the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. While may be hard to imagine, you just have to see the movie to understand.

Global Warming is real, it’s a threat and we have to take massive action if we’re going to save this planet. So, in the spirit of being a good activist, here are some actions you can take immediately.

1. Go to your local library and check out a copy of An Inconvenient Truth. Watch the movie. If it moves you the way it moved me, then invite your neighbors over and have them watch it with you. Most people will come if there is free popcorn involved.



2. Buy the DVD at Amazon. A percentage of the profits go to a new effort, the Alliance for Climate Protection, to educate the public about global warming. The Alliance has a list of further actions you can take on their web site. If you don’t need a copy, then donate a copy to the local library or to schools in your area.



3. Go to the EPA's Personal Greenhouse Gas Calculator and figure out how much you are producing in greenhouse gases. Then, scroll farther down the page for several ideas to offset your greenhouse gas burden on the earth.



4. Next, go to AlGore.com and fill out a postcard to go to the Congress. If you do so immediately, Al Gore himself is planning on hand-carrying the post cards to Congress.



5. Hand-write a letter to your Representative and Senators. It seems that Congress takes hand-written letters more seriously than typed ones or email. Express your concern and ask them to support the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Ask them to tell you exactly what they intend to do about global warming.

But most of all go see the movie. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. It will change your life.