Ask Not What Obama Can Do for You -- Ask What You Can do for Obama

On the morning after the most historic election in our history, newspapers all over the country blared out mile high headlines. "OBAMA" the New York Times shouted. But only a few hours after Obama was declared the President-elect, the advice giving started. Don't get arrogant, a Phoenix newspaper opines. Move quickly from campaigning to governing, suggests the Des Moines Register. An Indian newspaper warns of an uncertain road ahead for Obama. A Japanese newspaper says that the hard work starts now.

My question for Obama and for the millions of volunteers who worked so hard to elect him is, "What now?" What will happen to the incredible energy and enthusiasm? The almost obsessive activity that many of us engaged in over the past 22 months? Can Obama harness and redirect this energy and interest in our democracy? Or can WE harness and redirect the energy we felt?

It's not really Obama's responsibility to keep us involved. It really is ours. We should not be asking what Obama can do for us. We should be asking what we can do for him and the country. So here are some suggestions I have for keeping alive his call to service.

1. Turn your attention to local politics. Take what you learned from the Obama campaign and focus it on what is happening in your city at the City Council, the Board of Education, whatever governing body affects your daily life.

2. Talk to people who did not vote for Obama. Find out why. Try to refute some of the smears that will only continue. Don't let acquaintances or co-workers get away with these lies.

3. Volunteer -- in your own community. If you were not actively volunteering before this campaign, start now. The need is huge. The opportunities are many. Obama will no doubt increase the size and scope of existing volunteer programs like VISTA or Americorps or the Peace Corps. My husband and I were in the first Peace Corps group to go to Ethiopia under President Kennedy. It changed our lives.

4. Keep your elected officials honest. If you have never written to your local, state or national elected officials, start doing it now. No use complaining about Washington unless you are willing to do something about it. I expect Obama to set up an active rapid response effort to legislation he proposes. Imagine the impact of millions of emails to a congressman or woman who does not support Obama's health reform plans?

5. Blog and comment online. Many of us blogged about Obama during the past few years, and it was fun and enlightening to read comments and make comments of our own. I myself started blogging for the first time because of Obama. I complained about the media's shallow interviewing of Palin; and I tried to point out the radical nature of McCain's health plan proposal. In addition, I registered on various state-level blogs and wrote diaries and blogs there whenever I could. There will continue to be a need for ordinary people to blog about their experiences during the campaign and their opinion about what Obama does once he is President.

UPDATE: President-elect Obama launched a website on Thursday, November 6th- www.change.gov - to allow the public to find out information about his policies, the inauguration, share stories about the campaign, and send their resumes for government positions.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election

Comments

[FearlessFreep]

Am I reading this right? The people who voted for Obama can't expect anything in return except the obligation to provide further support? (I haven't forgotten how Clinton repeatedly betrayed his supporters.)

[Osprey3]

The post-election focal point for citizenry involvement in the affairs of the national government is the newly established website: change.gov:

[kingmiller]

Thanks Linda. So far, I'm already doing steps 2,3 and 5. I'll work on steps 1 and 4. Cool.

[LemonMeringue]

I am going to work hard to make certain the Democrats do not waste this chance.

I don't entirely trust them not to blow it.

I want the Democrats to listen to Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader who are 100% correct on the issues.

[SolarPowerGuy]

Agreed. I want them to listen, JUST a little bit for once!

[Balzac]

I concur. Listen especially to Kucinich.

Nader got a bit carried away with his rhetoric and I think he ought to learn to be less cantankerous.

[proudoldlefty]

Exactly. The answer to "postpartum campaign depression" is to get and STAY involved (if you're not already).

I'd suggest immediately picking up a copy of Naomi Wolf's newest book, "Give Me Liberty. A Handbook For American Revolutionaries." Great philosophy AND some pretty good SPECIFIC resources and pointers to specific actions we can take, some of which have already been suggesting in other comments here - from raising funds for a cause (which can be done completely online from a home computer), to sponsoring a ballot initiative.

On a final note, I'm thinking of turning my website, community-­organizer.­com - which I started in reaction to the Republican's mocking of community organizers at their convention - over to some community organization that will be working for a progressive cause. Any ideas?

www.community-organizer.com

[apingebrig]

Great article. I noticed this too. Immediately after the election, everyone with a keyboard had "advice" for Obama.

[Shoemoney]

I started thinking that I was willing to do something to help, I just needed to be given my assignment. Then I realized I was smart enough to do this. We all know the problems in our communities and can come up with great ideas on our own, probably better ones because nobody knows better than us our own communities needs and how to improve our own corner of the world.


So the day following the election my husband and I started thinking about what we could do. Since we own a country cafe here in Oklahoma, we got to know some state legislators recently while they were campaigning, and we have good relationships with them, despite our political differences. So we are forming an idea to develop and pay for a new civics program for our high schools here.

At this time civics is a class many school districts don't offer because it's easier and cheaper to cut them. So we are gonna come up with a plan to reintroduce civics lessons in our public schools, and present it to our friends in the state leg. This is what we are doing.

[Linda Bergthold - Huffpost Blogger]

i think the idea of a civics program is excellent! Perhaps some of the other HuffPo commenters can give you some resources for how to implement this idea. Do you have any further elaboration on what you might want to teach in such a program?

[Shoemoney]

Thanks so much for responding! We have just a nugget of an idea, basically to teach how the government works and how ordinary citizens can effect how their government works. We have some ideas how to pay for it, but I'm looking for any and all input. I can't do much here cause I'm still suffering with dial-up, and huffington takes FOREVER to load. But I do have a myspace page and e-mail under the name shoemoney on AOL. So bring on the suggestions, all are welcome!

[MPeter]

Agreed absolutely. Thanks Linda. That is the spirit we Americans need. The world is ready to embrace our leadership again. As one American abroad noted, we are tired of apologizing for being American.

[Ron]

Yes but, President-elect Obama needs to restore the faith in government by restoration of our justice system. One of the main goals should be by regaining the trust of the american people with holding the people accountable for the illegal acts taken by this administration. Until they are held accountable, and I mean not by being found guilty then given the customary pardon,but by actually having to be held responsible for their criminal acts against this country and the american people. If this doesn't happen, justice will only be for the ones who don't have money or power, and not be given to the priviledged few in the higher offices of this government. Their will never be trust , respect, or faith in the government again, after whats been done if nothings happens.

[elbzee]

I disagree. We've found our voices, and are beginning to enjoy how it feels to take a part in all of this.

While I ABSOLUTELY want the war profiteers and war criminals of the past 8 years held accountable, I can't condone sitting back and waiting for that to happen.

Over the past 4 years I've become active in expressing myself and my concerts via letters (sometimes frequent) to my representatives. I absolutely intend to hold their feet to the fire when they contradict the positions I voted for. I now know to watch the issues and their votes. This is OUR government, and I intend to participate!I If nothing happens, it's OUR fault too.

[dudervision]

Dead on!!! Remember, the most important word in the slogan "Yes, We Can" is "WE"

If we do like we have done with so many presidents in the past, sit back, and say..."ok, we elected you...now do you you promised", Obama will fail. It won't be because he lied. It will be because todays problems are far too great for even a man of Obama's abilities. It's going to take every single American who cares about our nation and our world to roll up their sleeves and get to work. Also, don't expect Obama to tell you what to do...get out there and find out what needs to be done...then do it.

We've won the election...

Now, begins the hard part.

[ProudAmerican23]

I enjoy the sediment of the idea, "Yes We Can" but we have to ask ourselves - "Had We atleast tried during the last 8 years wouldnt we be already on the path?" The Blame Bush game only goes so far and like others have said here Obama is good but he can only do so much. The change isnt going to come from the Government, and Bush never came and personally stiffled anyones grass roots movement or stopped people from rolling up their sleeves and getting to work on fixing the problems. Its all about people getting off their asses and doing it... but if the last 8 years is any measure of human nature then we will prove ourselves to be at fault instead of the one figure head in the whitehouse.

[Keith52]

Thank you Linda. This is dead on the money. It's OUR campaign. And we took our government back. It's up to us to follow through.

[marytny]

I'm waiting for my assignment

[drkazmd65]

Don't wait,... take Ms. Bergthold's advice as a starting point.

I'm already trying to figure out when the next public meeting of my city's (newly reconstituted) school board will be,... and I don't even have kids yet. Volunteer time or canned goods to help out at the local food bank. Just do something, or at least try to do it.

[klondiker]

I really, really want to work for this administration in the White House! I don't care what it is - I'll sweep floors if they ask me to!

[ElBruce]

Absolutely. As Barack has been saying, the hard part starts now.

I also stand ready to accept any cabinet position or ambassadorship offered me.

[GoldStarMom]

I posted yesterday under another topic. It's just as valid a reply here.

Allow me to give you a little background information about myself. My IQ is 157. I'm an almost 58 year old (white) female. I've been married to my 58 year old (white) husband for 30 years.

Due to my husband's health problems - Diabetes, Alzheimer's, C.O.P.D., & others - I'm unable to work outside my home, as I'm his primary care-giver. My husband receives Social Security Disability, therefore, our finances are extremely limited. We can't afford to own a vehicle and we rent our home.

I'm also a Gold Star Mother, having lost my oldest son, Sgt. William Robert Howdeshell, in Iraq on July26, 2007. My middle son and his wife are struggling to raise their children amidst layoffs & high unemployment in the state they live in. My youngest son has physical disabilities stemming from being hit by a car at age 10 combined with lifelong learning disabilities.

I do however, own a computer ( a gift from my eldest son) and I have access to the internet.

I'm not asking President Obama, or ANYONE ELSE, what they're going to do for me or my family. What I DO want to know is this... What can I PERSONALLY do to help rebuild our country?

[Linda Bergthold - Huffpost Blogger]

It sounds like you have your hands full at home, but you can do a lot from your computer. You can monitor articles and blogs that write things that are not factual and comment on them, sharing the information you have. You can blog yourself by writing pieces about what it's like in your family. And you can keep in touch with Obama's website www.change.gov and comment on his proposed policies and suggest your own. President-elect Obama will listen to what we say, so it's up to us to tell him what we think. If he proposes to cover all children with health insurance, then we need to send emails to our congresspeople telling them we support that. You can bet that Obama will receive plenty of trouble from the Republicans. They have no agenda of their own, so they will attack him, like they did Bill Clinton. But the fact that the Democrats have a majority in the House and Senate should allow them to pass legislation even in the midst of all the shouting from the other side. Still, YOUR voice will be needed and don't for a minute think that you can't make that voice heard, even from your own home!