Getting involved...

It is a lot easier to stay on the fringes of life refusing to get involved. It is a lot safer too. If you are not involved, it is hard to make mistakes or be criticised for saying or doing the wrong thing and believe me there is nothing that you can do that will be right in the eyes of everyone. Being an immigrant (legel one), it is even harder to get involved. Many immigrants, like me, have come from countries where getting involved does not usually lead to a pleasant follow-up experience. Do or say the wrong thing and you may land in jail. So why get involved in politics, education, religion, or even entertainment? Because if you do not get involved you are leaving it up to others to control your life without even hearing what you have to say. You may think that your voice is too weak to be heard, but many just like you have the same things to say and collectively your voices will be strong enough to be heard. They just need you to lead.

So how to get involved? The first and most important thing is to register to vote if you are eligible and do vote when you have a chance. Do not shy away from supporting a candidate that you like. Financial support is not the only way you can help, but is not only for the rich either. Donating few dollars to a campaign that you like is very empowering. There are many other options to get involved and the ones I personally tried include:

1. writing to the congressman, senator, or even the president. They may not respond for each letter, but I have got them to respond with personal letters few times. It is not hard to find their emails on the web try: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml, or http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html.
2. writing a letter to the editor of your local news paper is usually a good way of sharing your opinions. I have used it to defend my religious beliefs against the twisting of facts, but also to comment on general community issues that affect all of us living in the US.
3. creating and participating in discussion groups on popular websites such as Yahoo or regional and national newspapers.
4. not shying away from writing a comment on a story that touches you on the web. I have sent emails to network anchors in the past when I felt their coverage is biased and to my surprise they responded positively to my comments.
5. talking to your friends and colleagues at work is a little trickier. If you do that, you have to be respectful to others and be open minded when people disagree with you.
6. creating your own blog and sharing your thoughts. I just did that!

Translating a popular song from my native language: "A word is a hand, A word is a leg, A word is a door. A word is a shining star in the darkness. A word is a solid bridge over the sea of misery. " Words are much stronger than many of us think, let us learn to harness their power.