See also:

Peace and Poverty

Liberalism: Is it Biblical?

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Americans, exercise your civic duty. (Non-Americans please do the same!)

Vote. Keep an eye on the news and find out what's happening in your country. Then keep in touch with your representatives about it.  You have access to the internet so make the most of it.  Visit your town and state websites for contact information for your local officials.  To contact your federal representatives visit the Senate and Congressional contact lists.  (Feel free to contact all of the good folks on the Hill if the issue is a burning one.)

Here are some suggested places where you can sign up for email notification on action alerts for at-home activism.  In many cases there are pre-written letters and petitions you can sign which will allow you to participate but also save you some time.

Progressive Secretary:  "Progressive Secretary sends out progressive email letters to Congress, the President, and other officials on peace, ecology, civil rights and other issues. The letters are suggested by participants in the cooperative and are sent to you as a proposal. If you tell us to "send", then the letters are sent to your Congress people and others noted in the proposal over your signature and return address. A report is sent to you. "

U.S. Pirg: " U.S. PIRG is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or our natural environment is threatened, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, U.S. PIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight to end them, using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation. U.S. PIRG's mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest activism that protects our environment, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government."

People for the American Way:  "We're fighting to maintain and expand 50 years of legal and social justice progress that right-wing leaders are trying to dismantle. We won't let them turn back the clock on our rights and freedoms."
 
Act for Change: "ActForChange allows individuals to speak out on urgent issues of the day found on our news site such as gun violence and environmental degradation. We give you a direct link to the decision-makers who can make a difference on these issues-free of charge."

True Majority:  A grassroots education and advocacy project that will send you email alerts about critical issues with convenient ways to contact national leaders.

Citizen Works: "Citizen Works sends out regular e-mail updates filled with ideas for citizen participation. Sign up here and receive local and national action items, along with news updates on our quest to build a better democracy for all."

AFL-CIO: "The Working Families e-Activist Network is one way you can do that. As a network subscriber you receive occasional action alerts when your voice is needed. With one click you can send a fax or e-mail to a key decision maker in Congress, at the White House or an employer who isn't respecting the rights of workers."

Move-on.org: " The MoveOn family of organizations brings real Americans back into the political process. With over 3.3 million members across America – from carpenters to stay-at-home moms to business leaders – we work together to realize the progressive vision of our country’s founders. MoveOn is a service – a way for busy but concerned citizens to find their political voice in a system dominated by big money and big media."

Friends Committee on National Legislation:  "We seek a world free of war and the threat of war. We seek a society with equity and justice for all. We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored."

Responsible Wealth: "We are leaders in business, community, government, philanthropy, academia and finance. We are among the wealthiest 5% of Americans, the primary beneficiaries of the robust growth of the American economy. We are united by our common concern that despite a booming economy, many are not sharing in the prosperity."

Veterans for Peace: Focusing on the issues of war, peace, and veterans' rights VFP will not let those who served our nation be left behind.

Veterans for Common Sense:  "Veterans for Common Sense seeks to inject the element of Common Sense into debates over war and national security. In an age when the majority of public servants have never served in uniform, the perspective of war veterans must play a key role in the public debate over national security issues in order to preserve the liberty veterans have fought and died preserving."

Care Packages for Soldiers: Brighten a soldier's day by sending a little piece of home.

The Hunger site: "About 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger-related causes. This is down from 35,000 ten years ago, and 41,000 twenty years ago. Three-fourths of the deaths are children under the age of five. Famine and wars cause about 10% of hunger deaths, although these tend to be the ones you hear about most often. The majority of hunger deaths are caused by chronic malnutrition. Families facing extreme poverty are simply unable to get enough food to eat. "

The Breast Cancer site:  "Each year, 182,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 43,300 die. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 400 will die this year."

The Child Health site:  No child should ever have to go without adequate healthcare.

The Rain Forest Site:  Protect our environment!

The Animal Rescue site: "The Animal Rescue Site focuses the power of the Internet on a specific need -- providing food for some of the 27 million unwanted animals given to shelters in the US every year. Over 10 million animals are put to death every year in the US alone because they are unwanted, abandoned, or abused."

The Literacy site:  "The Literacy Site gives you a way to share the magic of books and promote the love of reading among children who might otherwise never discover the joy of their first book. Your click on the red "Give Free Books" button at The Literacy Site generates books for children in need, funded by site sponsors and provided through our award winning charity partner, First Book. In the last three years, First Book has distributed over 20 million books to children in hundreds of communities."