Kelly
Austin
A story about this — 5 years ago
If you feel like the world needs to change but you don’t know how to get started on doing your part, this book is here to help. It features 50 personal essays of political action from people all over the US, and each essay has several tips for how you can do something similar in your own life.
A few of the ideas are: starting a political book club, registering voters in likely or unlikely places, taking action with your family, reading more news and watching less TV “news”, and so on.
But remember—these are just normal people. They have day jobs, just like you. They have families and demanding kids, just like you. Sometimes they feel like what they think or do doesn’t matter, just like you. The only difference is that they’ve chosen to take a few minutes out of their month or day or week to do something that makes them feel better about themselves and about the direction of their community.
But this lies in all of us. We all have the power to throw off the restraints of despair and rekindle some hope in our lives and the lives of those around us.
I should probably disclose that the essay on page 30 is mine! But this isn’t about personal promotion, I assure you. All the proceeds from this book are funneled back into MoveOn.org. I have read the essays in this book, and I find them truly inspiring. I hope you will too.
And with that, I’ll leave you with these bits of wisdom…
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”—Maya Angelou
“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.”—Albert Einstein
“Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.”—Mahatma Gandhi
