What one person can do.

• Author: Hightower, Jim
• Position: Vox Populist - Barack Obama

I've been hearing many cries of despair from you good folks about the timorous Obama Presidency. On issue after issue (including the Wall Street bailout, health care, jobs, the green economy, climate change, and Afghanistan), it's been go slow and don't rock the corporate boat. Where's the "audacity of hope," people are asking, where's the "change you can believe in"?

The answer is that they're where they've always resided: with you and me. For some reason, the guy who was elected by running from the outside is now trying to govern from the inside which is where change goes to die.

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That's disappointing and infuriating, but it's not hopeless. Nor can we let it be an excuse for giving up. Now is the time for us to be more aggressive, more demanding, more active than ever. Many of you ask: "Fine, but how? I'm just one person. What can I do?"

Here are some suggestions:

1. Start by considering what's reasonable for you. Few of us can be full-time activists, and the list of issues and problems is intimidatingly long and complex.

   So, just take one bite, choosing an issue that interests you the most, then start contributing what you can (time, skills, contacts, money, enthusiasm). Don't beat yourself up or feel your contribution is too small if you can devote only a half-day a week, or an hour a day, or even five minutes a day. It all adds up. One young Oregon woman put it nicely when she reflected on her half-day-a-week of volunteer door-knocking in a legislative race: "I was only a drop in the bucket, but I was a drop. And without all of us, the bucket would not have filled up."

2. Inform yourself. A little effort can quickly connect you to accessible, usable information and insights on any given topic, allowing you to gain a "citizen's level" of expertise so you can talk to others about it. Read progressive periodicals, tune in to progressive broadcasts, get information from public interest groups, and plug into good websites and blogs.

   Don't know how to go online? Nearly all public libraries have not only computers, but also librarians and volunteers who'll assist you in finding the info you want and teach you how to use the machines. Or, find a youngster (maybe your granddaughter or someone at church) who'll help you. Yes, you can do this!

3. Democracy belongs to those who show up. Join with others. Everyone feels better as part of...