It's what I always wanted-to be in touch with a community of ideas like this. There's something thrilling about the internet. It almost doesn't matter what anyone says. It's more the thrill of knowing you're in touch with people laterally, rather than through a filter of some kind.

Brian Eno 1993

it's been awhile since i've written� i got a job. a wonderful one, no less - but i quit. i was working as a canvasser for calpirg. essentially, whenever the man is keeping someone/thing down, calpirg is there to make sure their voices are heard. in a land where money (more often than not) writes the laws, they're a good organization to have around. fossil fuel pacs alone have been known to spend nearly 20 million in a five year span on lobbying and pr. polar bears and poor folks can't keep up on their own.

while i was there, i did door to door canvassing on behalf of the sierra club. we were out trying to raise awareness (and money) for protecting the arctic national wildlife refuge up in alaska. it was an incredible experience. talking to one hundred strangers over the course of 2 days will give you a new perspective on the hows and whys of our isolated society. do it for a week and it will permanently change your life. i met a wide variety of people� helped some of them see past the massive amounts of miss-information out there� helped those who already did get further involved� and raised a few of the almighty dollars.

so why did i quit?
�time.

when the only way you can hope to reach people, is by going to everyone's door� your way behind. calpirg (and all other not for profits) have to fight hard. that takes some serious dedication. it wasn't unusual to put in a 12 hour day� that day never ended before 10:00pm. as much as i loved it, there are a lot of other things i love too. I didn't have any time what so ever for them. i have the utmost respect for the directors and such that have given their lives for this. they are amazing people. their passion and dedication to helping others have a better life doesn't get 1/10th of the credit it deserves. �but it wasn't for me.

now i'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself. I don't think I can go back to making web pages for places like banks. i never enjoyed it much before� i think i would even less now. ideally, i'd like to help not-for profits take better advantage of the net. there appears to be a big need to get people involved beyond a contribution at their door. they believe in it. they want to help� but they don't get around to it. it's a matter of directing them past knowledge and towards wisdom. when people don't just know that there's a problem, but have a personal understanding of how it is going to effect society in the long term, they not only act with little to no prompting, but they also serve to inform those that don't know. it's the old data > information > knowledge > wisdom cycle. when the public at large is further educated, the talents and resources of the people who are dedicated on a daily basis to the cause can be used in much more efficient manors. slowly but surely putting them on equal grounds with the large corporations (government included) and moving towards a time with companies act responsibly because it's the right thing to do� not because they were forced against their wills.

how is this accomplished?

i don't know� but we live in a time with unprecedented abilities to educate, inform, and bring people together. it has to be possible. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I'd love to hear anyone else's opinions.