Project #1: Choose a global issue – BlogHer's red-hot issue for the year# 1 - My issue would, of course, be Illegal Immigration. I would ask BlogHers members to post once a week on the topic, with the intent to raise awareness of the current alien situation, and to lobby our Congress to make changes to current law to protect our borders, and eliminate the de facto 2-tiered, European-style residency classification -
If you could turn the power of the BlogHer community on to making a difference on a single global issue for the next 12 months, what would that issue be? Why? How would you and your community of blog readers help? Do you already have a blog or issue that you're working on and want the BlogHer community to fend for? Great! Tell us below… This year at BlogHer '07 in Chicago on July 27th , we'll be looking at some case studies of using social media to raise consciousness and awareness, and we'll apply them to an action plan for this issue.
Project #2: Creating an Election '08 Voter Manifesto
Let's create a Voter Manifesto, asking the media and presidential candidates from all parties to answer real questions and address real issues. Let's help them by creating a template: the questions any candidate must answer if they want to earn our vote next year. If you could tell the presidential candidates what is most important to you, what are the top four hot button issues you would ask them to address?
- citizens and legal residents
vs. - illegal aliens
Repeat after me - we ain't the world's solution. While I recognize the need to accept refugees during times of crisis, we can't take in everybody. They need to stay in their own country, and work to change it. By leaving, they may help their personal situation, but it doesn't do anything to help the place they came from. In fact, accepting refugees has the same purpose as a valve on a pressure cooker - it releases the build-up of pressure, but allows the overheated situation to continue.
Our goal should be to help those citizens transform their society to benefit the average resident. In short, democracy.
# 2 - the top 4 issues for Presidential Candidates to address:
- Illegal Immigration
- Homeland Security - beef it up, and take it seriously.
- Social Security reform - the young of this country deserve better than paying ever-increasing portions of their income for a scheme that they will never benefit from.
- Repeal McCain-Feingold - NOW! Restore Freedom of Speech.
2 comments:
Very thought-provoking post! I definitely agree that immigration, homeland security, Social Security, and campaign finance are important challenges for our next president to tackle. Thanks for sharing :-)
My husband is a Brit, a legal alien who has been here since he was 15. His family had to be sponsored by another family all those years ago. He works, pays Social Security and taxes like I do.
I met someone before they were deported, I don't understand the exceptions, some of them, perhaps, but not all.
As frustrating as it is, the missteps of the past have to be corrected to prevent total implosion later. I hope there are many many thoughtful discussions on this, but quickly. My heart breaks for those who came over in desperation - but my heart is beginning to break more over the future of all of us.
We all break a rule or two here and there, but if rules are broken en masse, why have them at all? We don't need much of an imagination to envision those results.
You accomplished something today. Reading your words reminded me I do have something to say about this subject. Speaking out on anything that resembles politics scares the heck out of me. . . I doubt I will be that effective, but I am going to make another effort this week.
Congrats on your long marriage as well and for stopping by my blog.
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