moved to act

i'm moved by this campaign playing out in front of me on the accidental glance at tv screens and newspaper headlines. just the other day, my mother told me she was going to Barak Obama headquarters to figure out what she had to do to get a sign or a button or a bumper sticker. now my mom is a hardcore, sometimes embarassingly unforgiving republican. she got it from my dad. she got it from the surrounding cultural requirement, in kansas, that one be conservative, christian and as close to the far right at conservative values will allow. but oprah and her candidate have gotten to her. she's seen the light. she's seen the goodness of the man in a masquerade of skin that makes him unique--and garners a place in the spotlight of the times.

myself, i'll be voting for hilary. it's a requirement of my sex. it's a requirement of my deep appreciation of the lineage of my voting history and how and why and how hard it was won. secretly, i wish that hilary and obama would declare themselves co-presidents and run together toward a landslide victory that would, in fact, incite every voting american to get to the polls.

even more secretly, i think, that perhaps, john edwards is, indeed the best candidate.

and i have been thinking these silent thoughts with the power of a secret passion--and now, today, in this moment, it is necessary to act. i am going to write down my silent thoughts and post them on this blog. i will take at least that much action. later, i may doodle in a journal, and i might even venture out of my cozy, lit up, holiday home, to do that in public at a table in starbuck's or, if i am deeper in my authentic choosing, at denica's (a local, family owned cafe i want to support). if i like my doodles, i'll take a picture of them, and perhaps post the picture on one of my many blogs. i may continue this thread of thought and do a little compare/contrast research and self-education so that i can be smarter about why i intuitively feel the way i do. i might even start a conversation with my husband or my kids or people i already know in the world, and, through that conversation, share my inclinations and start something, respond to something, learn something from them. and, if i feel smart enough, the next time i am at a dinner party or in a larger small group, i might mention this inquiry and what it is leading me to. and then, perhaps, i will do it again, in another small group. i might stop deleting what moveon sends me. i might sign a petition or craft a letter to my congress people or send a note to the candidates themselves. it's unlikely, at this moment in my monetary reality, that i will send a check--but i might make something that accurately reflects my sentiments and put it up in public view. and in this way, i will be moved to act. i will use the power of this keyboard, this search engine, this mouth, these hands, this art maker's heart. and i will begin, as i have been today--finally, moved, to act.