This story on NPR got me thinking about times in our country's past when we made sacrifices for our united well being. It made me start thinking, what can we do today to improve our country's financial state. I'm not talking on a policy level, but I'm thinking day-to-day life changes and sacrifices. There are several areas where I'm recommitting myself to my country and to bettering my communities economic situation:
1) Act Green - The environmental situation we find ourselves in is really a global crisis equal to the economic crisis and intricately connected I believe. So where can we start to make headway, everybody's heard it before: Turn off your lights; buy energy efficient bulbs; use less water; recycle; reuse old objects in a new way; give hand-me-downs and hand ups to people who need what you have but aren't using . . . the list can go on. If we care for what we have here in natural resources, we'll better our environment and our country as a whole.
2) Volunteer - Everyone is busy and scheduled to the max these days, but there's no one who can't give three hours to benefit another person once a month. When we volunteer we not only improve another person's life, we provide the potential that they will then feel more uplifted and be able to pay it forward to someone else. We also improve our collective attitude by contributing to a sense of optimism and hope for a better future. I think a positive attitude goes a very long way in increasing people's energy and our ability to pull out of a desperate situation. In Nashville TN 'Hands on Nashville' is a great place to start when looking for a volunteer opportunity.
3) Buy local - There are many things that we can put our money towards, but I think small local businesses that use very few resources and support local economies is always a noble cause. At a time when big banks and big businesses are being bailed out by our federal government, let's bail out that local farm by purchasing their strawberries this summer, let's go to our small local grocery store, let's buy handmade gifts from a local artist, let's eat at local restaurants, and let's shop at our local bookstores.
That's the start of my stimulus package, what are you planning on doing for your country in it's time of need?
