There's an old saying that goes something like this: "If you don't vote, you can't complain."

Amen--voting is at the heart of our democratic society. People died fighting for our freedom to choose. What would they say if we just said, "well, I was too busy to vote this year"? Yeah, that won't fly.

Go vote, not just in presidential elections, but in your local elections! Educate yourself and vote your conscience. Martyrs of years past will smile down upon you.

However, I don't think that only voting is enough. Voting is one step (albeit a Neil Armstrong-ish one), but in order to change your nation and reduce the national debt you need to follow up that vote with appropriate political action. And political action is easier than most people think.

Here is a small list of things YOU can do to change your nation:

Promote this blog--Send the link www.redspending.com to your friends. Or, join our facebook group "An Inconvenient Debt" and invite all of your friends to join.

Write a letter to your senator or representative--

(here's how you find them) http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Put your letter in a big envelope to get their attention! Get all of your friends and neighbors to sign it! Send a bunch of letters in one envelope! Be creative.

Keep informed--you can't be involved if you're not informed. Try making your favorite news station your homepage on your web browser for a while. That way, whenever you get online to check your Facebook page, you'll see what's going on in the world that day.

Go to rallies, meetings, and protests. Most organizations have ways that you can follow their events and happenings through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or other social networking sites. Sign up for this correspondence and get involved!

This is just the beginning. I will regularly post ways that you can get more involved in your community. I believe this is the way to bring about change.

Change. That word has been used a lot lately. Regardless of how you think it should be used, here is a definition I think we can all agree with:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

--Mahatma Gandhi

Do you want to change "out of control" government spending? Do you want to reduce the national debt? Be the one who doesn't sit around while the debt grows like a weed. Be the citizen that gets involved.

I repeat what Josh said last week: We can, and we will.

Chuch