The Stakes Are Very High

I'm considering taking leave from work during October and going home to Ohio to work for the Obama/Biden campaign. In 2006, I went home to Cincinnati and worked the final week of the 2006 election. I thought it was important then and I think it's even more important now. This is an excerpt from a post I did then (it was a particularly good one):

Why invest myself in this election: If the stakes were higher for America this would be called the 2004 election. Republicans are running this country in the wrong direction — nearly 60% of America believes this — and the consequences could put America in a Dark Ages where: cures are never found because stem cell research is blocked; National Security is constantly threatened because peace is never built and terrorist cells are stoked and fanned by a remarkably poor foreign policy; my generation of Americans is increasingly saddled with the failed fiscal policy myopic politicians who think loading the public debt on the backs of the young is a short-term political solution; American classism grows more intense than racism as Rich America continues to be enriched by Republican policies and Poor America continues to get poorer because of Republicans’ state of economic denial; local economy is put on a back-burner to the global economy, instead of being seen as a partner to it; “fair trade” means the free-flow only of financial capital, social capital, and intellectual capital, yet the flow human capital remains regulated and criminalized, causing severe disruptions in the legal economy.

With the steaks this high, I can afford to take this week and work to elect smarter, better, leadership. Better said, I can’t afford not to.