Why am I doing this?I'm fed up with this administration and its policies. And I'm genuinely scared of the future we'll inherit if these maniacs are allowed four more years to consolidate their power. Make no mistake: if Bush wins, we are not in for four more years of the same. We're in for four more years of much, much worse. They'll finish the job they've started, destroying Social Security, our environment, our economy, and our health care system. They'll further increase the danger of terrorism by starting new wars and creating new enemies. And without an upcoming election to worry about, they will only more blatantly abuse the powers they've granted themselves with rights-stripping laws like the PATRIOT Act. We are that close to fascism in this country, and that scares the hell out of me. Also, I realized something surprising after listening to the Kerry/Bush debates on Thursday: I genuinely like Kerry. I used to think of him as the lesser of two evils. But after hearing the man speak so articulately, and frankly trounce his opponent in the debate, I was deeply impressed. I found him to be intelligent, principled, confident, honest and brave: all the qualities our current leader lacks. And I believe he has a plan that will extricate our troops from the bloody quagmire in Iraq. I still may not agree with every single one of Kerry's policies, but I would be proud to call him my president. Like many of you, up to now I had never given money towards any kind of political campaign before. I found the whole idea distasteful. I still do. Money should not be as big of a factor in our political system as it is. But we are in a dire situation right now, and I just can't sit back and let it get worse. I don't want to wake up November 3rd to find that Bush has stolen the election again, and know that I could have done more to stop him. I couldn't live with that. I originally wanted to help by volunteering. And actually, I encourage you to do that, especially if you have more free time than disposable income. With my 50-hour-a-week movie industry job, I'm kind of in the reverse situation, which is why I'm giving money instead of time. But if you can give either, or both, you'll be doing a great service. It's a very rewarding experience, I can tell you. One more note: this is not just about Kerry or Bush, and it's not just about this upcoming election. It took the right wing decades to build the massive power they have at this moment. I see many of these organizations as part of a long-range plan to develop an equally powerful moderate/progressive network based on better principles. If we start now, we can challenge these right-wing extremists and ultimately defeat them, not just in Washington but everywhere. |