5 Things You Can Do to Change the Country and the World

The 2008 U.S. Presidential Elections are only two weeks away. Obama seems poised to win a landslide victory, but he has warned us that we cannot become complacent. The Republicans have stolen elections in the past, and they are trying to steal this one. They are disenfranchising voters all across the country, challenging registrations, practicing voter intimidation, and rigging voting machines. In addition to this there are fears that the polls are not completely accurate in their prediction of Obama's margin - some people may say they will vote for a black man, and then refuse to do so in the privacy of the polls where they don't have to worry about being labeled racist.

Do not think your vote is not important, doesn't count, or isn't necessary because Obama has a comfortable lead. Every vote is needed to make his win so big that the Republicans won't be able to steal it or claim it was an illegitimate win. We have to get Obama into the White House, and we have to give him a clear mandate with which to govern once he's in office.

To that end, here are some tips for how to wield power and influence in the United States of America (this is an edited, updated excerpt from The Patriot’s Spellbook by Vivienne D'Avalon):

1. Vote. Vote in every election. Don't just wait for the Presidential election once every four years. The 2006 midterm elections were unprecedented in their importance to this country, but the House and Senate are still stacked with Bush's Republican lapdogs, and the Constitution and our democracy are still in terrible jeopardy. We must vote as many Republicans as possible out of office and vote in Democrats who will investigate President Bush and imprison everyone in his administration that has broken the law and flouted the Constitution and our Federal Courts.

History has proven that even the smallest, seemingly insignificant elections, such as those for the local school boards, are essential. Right wing authoritarians have a track record of running for such positions in secret, deliberately hiding their affiliations, ideology and agenda in order to get elected. They then have unprecedented influence over the minds of our children, and indoctrinate them from an early age in our public schools by removing science from the curriculum and replacing it with dogma and theology.

Many people have become disillusioned with the electoral process because of the debacles of the last two Presidential elections, which Bush successfully stole, thwarting the will of the majority of the American people. I'm sure by now most of you are already familiar with the travesty that took place in the 2000 election, in which Gore won the popular vote but not the electoral vote, because the Republicans ensured that thousands of votes in key electoral college states were thrown out for one reason or another, or simply not counted.

I'm sure many of you are also familiar with the illegal activities of the 2004 election that resulted in electronic votes for Kerry being changed before the voters' eyes into votes for Bush. Many were prevented from voting at all, because of the crime of "voting while black." A majority of black voters are Democrats. If you are not already familiar with these crimes, please do a search on the internet for relevant reputable articles, so you can be awakened to just how bad things are. (There are several good source web sites listed in the appendix to The Patriot’s Spellbook).

However, the worst thing we can do is simply give up and refuse to vote. That kind of apathy and inaction is exactly what the criminals in our government want, because it will make it that much easier for them to continue their election fraud for years to come. "All it requires for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."

Randi Rhodes (at the time on Air America) suggested a valuable precaution to enable voters to protect their vote and make sure it is counted, and not stolen, changed, or discarded -- you do not have to wait until Election Day and vote at your polling place. You can vote early, up to two weeks before Election Day, at the office of your Supervisor of Elections and other select sites. You can get locations and a schedule from your local Supervisor of Elections. There should be a phone number for their office listed on your voter registration card. If you are not already registered, for Goddess' sake, R-E-G-I-S-T-E-R, and make sure you do it early enough that no one can try to tie up your registration in red tape and errors to prevent you from voting! (It may already be too late for you to register, but early voting has started in some states, so if you are registered, make sure you go vote as soon as possible!)

There are three advantages to voting early: 1) you can be certain that no unscrupulous poll workers will be taking your vote home overnight, as happened in several districts in Ohio in the 2004 election; 2) you will be casting a paper ballot, not using the electronic voting machines that will be utilized in many states across the country this fall and which are easily hacked to change votes, as happened in many places in the 2004 presidential election; and 3) you will be freed on election day to work as a volunteer, helping get out the vote, drive voters to their polling place, or supervising the polls to make sure everyone who is eligible to vote is allowed to vote and not turned away on some trumped up excuse, as happened to many African American voters in the 2004 election.

2. Participate in "get out the vote" drives. Get as many unregistered voters as you can to register and vote. Volunteer on Election Day, as suggested above - just make sure you sign up to do this well in advance, because you will need to be trained.

3. Get in touch with your local Democratic Party leaders, and volunteer. There are many different capacities in which you can help to get a larger Democratic majority back into the House and Senate in the upcoming election, including manning phone banks, writing letters to the editor, volunteering for a particular candidate's campaign, etc. Go to your local Democratic Party website for more suggestions, and for meeting and event calendars.

4. Donate money as well as time, whatever you can afford. Support a particular campaign, support your party, or support groups like People for the American Way and the ACLU that are fighting to protect our Constitutional and human rights.

5. Participate in peaceful demonstrations. Study the masters of civil disobedience -- Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Go to rallies. Make yourself visible. Make sure your voice is heard. Do not let evil acts go unquestioned. Support the people fighting for your right to protest.

Each one of us is unique and has irreplaceable skills and invaluable tools to bring to bear, each fitting into the whole mosaic of action that we must create if we are going to save ourselves, our families, our country, and our planet. Trust yourself; trust your inner voice. Trust no one else in place of that.

Blessed be, and good luck to us all on Election Day!

Vivienne

***

The Patriot’s Spellbook is still available as a free download with the purchase of On the Care and Feeding of Spirits. But hurry! It will only be available through November 4, 2008. After that it will go back into the vaults, and probably will not reemerge in its current form again.