Something to think about:

Ever since I volunteered to help out on the Obama campaign I've been getting tons of email from them. The latest emails have been pleas to get involved in community service. They come with video links:




And links to websites like http://usaservice.org/, http://www.USAservice.org/content/home and http://www.USAservice.org/calltoservice. Visiting the websites I found a "find an event" link where I could type in my zip code and see what volunteer requests were being made in my area. There were blood drives, food drives, clothing drives, "Teacher for a Day" volunteering, parties and other just social meet-ups.

At the moment I'm only thinking of going to a near-by blood drive, but that's something I've done before and it's no venture into new territory for me. Because of my mother, who use to drag me to the church food drives when I was in high school, I've also been lightly involved in both food drives and clothing drives before and I'm not really excited by those. Maybe if the need is great, but I don't really sense that in my community because the drives always seem to have plenty of volunteers who enjoy it more than I do. Even with the current recession and the economic hardship that these times are suppose to be bringing my mom often comes home with food from a food drive that nobody wanted. Lots of bread tending toward the stale side which actually makes better french toast than fresh, moist bread because it absorbs more of the milk and eggs.

Still, the idea of grass-root movements that make use of the election volunteers and that extend beyond the election seems to be a smart move for Obama. If he can awaken a "spirit of service" in people it could do a lot to take the edge off of a serious recession or out-right depression.

I'm not going to tell you that you have a "responsibility" to help your community and fellow citizens or that you should make a commitment to your neighborhood, no, Obama's emails do enough of that and I don't think many of my readers will respond to those buzz-words. I'm just going to say think about it. Try it and see if you like it. In helping others you can help yourself. Food drives can be social gatherings where you meet interesting people, perhaps a better class than you're meeting at your local bar or pub. If you're looking for work you might meet up with an employer or you might find a date.

We do live in an interconnected world and your community, like it or not, is your life support. Whether you get robbed or not might depend on how potential crooks feel about the others in their community and how in need they are.



UPDATE:
They're still emailing me videos: