It's Our Country

I have now voted and can no longer say I have no voice and no involvement. I think it’s time to think about what to do next. This time it’s not a case of “the election is over, let’s all go back to business as usual”. I don't think any of us have missed the reality that there are major issues to be handled. A charismatic leader is a vital part of a country's success, but it is OUR country and I think we are responsible for a lot more than watching TV and deciding who to vote for. Still, most of the problems we face are very complex. I can't say I have a grasp of something I should be doing on a daily basis. I do hope not only that there are experts out there who can determine what will work, but that the experts can be listened to and evaluated and actions taken. Is this a case of not knowing the answers, or of not being able to implement the answers? What roadblocks are there? Are you apathetic, just distracted by your own daily challenges, or can you simply not figure out what it is you can do to help? Or are you already doing something but you think others need to too?

Lisa over at BlogHer wonders what we are going to do to change our community. Whether you live in America or not, what are you doing, or what do you plan to do?

Do you think it's enough to just care for your family and let the government take care of the rest, or do we all need to be doing something? If we need to be doing something, who will tell us what that should be? Are you getting a clear message on changes you should make, or is this just someone else's problem? Where should we look for anwers?

Maybe you are a homeschooler. As homeschoolers I think we already are engaged in a way that some other people are not. Perhaps we see problems with an emphasis on learning facts at the expense of learning to do something useful and be part of a community. Maybe we wanted to remove our kids from the materialism and peer pressure that goes along with being part of a group at school. But, if our economy is built on spending, what happens if we all become frugal? I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I'd like to explore the topic further in the weeks ahead.

What would a better America, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Germany, Poland, Brazil, Guatemala, Philippines, South Korea, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium or India look like to you? In the last two weeks I've had visitors from all of these countries. I'd love to hear what you think. Where should we be focusing our energies?

What do you have to say :-)

* Rocket Stove - cooking with just a few sticks

This article can now be found at Loving Nature's Garden.

Ideas to Benefit Your Family

I've been thinking hard about what to share with you to benefit your family. Thanks to those who already completed my poll, I see that homeschooling and saving energy are your two biggest interests. If you've not yet completed my poll, please do take a minute to do so and let me know what I can provide.

Coming up for you here:

• More Movie Madness - lots of ideas on how to jump off movies into homeschooling or just family activities. If you liked The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music I have plenty more ideas.
  
• Make a Change for our Earth - ways to do things better, save energy, learn about our planet, or even just explore ideas and maybe change your thinking a bit. If you liked my Permaculture Roundup, Green Improvements List, and/or Air Dry Your Laundry Outside. I'll have more related to this with updates on my progress (or not) and links to products and homeschool ideas.
• Weekly Celebrations - a new thread on some of those crazy, fun, thought provoking, or historical celebrations like Talk Like a Pirate Day and Johnny Appleseed's Birthday (September 26th).

Of course I'm going to complete my journey through the 10 Attributes and no doubt I'll be wandering off to find other things I've not yet thought of. I do have 3 other threads that I'm keeping a secret for now!

Happy Reading :-)