I'm in

I made a small donation to the Obama campaign just now. I've never made a political donation before. But I'm excited by the Obama campaign. And I was thinking about the results of yesterday's elections and realizing that I ought to listen to the same message that I was talking about on Sunday during a newcomers class at church. We were talking about pledging and what would be the appropriate amount to pledge. I shared that my philosophy of giving is that we give not in exchange for what we get back but in order to be invested in the values of what we're giving to.

If Obama is elected I will receive the same benefit whether or not I gave. And my small donation will have no practical bearing on whether he wins. But it's not about giving to get back. It's about giving to be involved.

Obama was not my first choice for the democratic candidacy. I still have my reservations about him. And I would be (almost) as happy if Clinton ends up the nominee. But after eight years of evidence of how crucial the office of the presidency is to our nation and the world, I don't want to be a bystander to this decision.