My 1000th post - it's been a good two years

[lazyriver]

999 posts and most of them are nothing but wise-ass replies. It seems many fellow DUers make their 1000th post try to mean something. I can think of no better way to post something meaningful than to make the following points:

1) I am extremely grateful for DU. This is my first stop for news, analysis and discussion. DU has also been an inspiration for me. Reading about the tremendous efforts made by so many to take back our country caused me to rethink my plans to expatriate. Two years ago I was ready to go. I didn't think anybody cared here in the US anymore. This place helped me realize how wrong I was. My experience at DU is directly responsible for the other points below.

2) I got involved again. I used to be quite the environmental activist in college but gradually slipped into a state of torpor as life's responsibilities piled up. I was on auto pilot and let others scream into the void for me. But I have re-awakened. In the last 20 months I've volunteered to work for Obama and Tom Allen (first time helping a campaign), donated money to Kucinich, Allen and Obama (first time ever donating money for me), and made it a point to talk politics with anyone who will listen in an effort to awaken others. I've written so many emails and letters and made so many phone calls to my Representatives in the last two months, I am sure them are thinking about assigning me stalker status.

3) I grew as a person. In the past, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to many social issues. Specifically, I chose to remain ignorant of LGBT issues, sexism, and to a lesser extent, even racial issues. It's not that I didn't care or that I didn't support equal rights for everyone. It was more like living in a state of blissful denial where I didn't believe discrimination against many groups of people existed. Reading and posting here on DU along with several real world issues faced by people who have come into my life in the last two years has totally changed my mind. I am ashamed of my former ignorance but happy and grateful to be among the enlightened now.

4) One of my closest friends whom I've known since childhood has defected from the Republican party and registered as a Democrat. He even volunteered for the Obama campaign in his state and also recently joined DU. I've been working on him for two years and had begun to loose hope of convincing him he was misguided. Constantly sending him links to posts on DU helped to open his eyes. At first he refused to read anything at "one of those loony left wing websites" but gradually he came around. When he told me he was going to support Ron Paul because Paul opposed the Iraq War, I saw the chink in his armor and turned up the pressure. I eventually got him to consider looking at the Democratic platform by pounding him with DU political video links of Dennis Kucinich speaking at anti-war rallies and reading articles of impeachment of Bush & Cheney. "That guy actually makes allota sense", my friend said to me and it was the most profound thing I'd heard come from him in many years. Over the last couple months his conversion came full circle. He's proud to call himself a Democrat now and called me to thank me after he switched his party affiliation and signed up to make phone calls for Obama.

There are lots of other positive things in my life that I can attribute in at least some way to the experience that has been DU but I won't bore you with them all. I just want to impress upon the Admins, Mods and Members how grateful I am for Democratic Underground as well as to let you all know this place really can make a difference. It has for me and I, in turn, for others.

Peace and let's kick some Republican ass to the curb in about a month.

Lazyriver

[lamp_shade]

1. BIG CONGRATULATIONS Lazyriver !!!

[FSogol]

2. Congrats. I'm a bit busy today, so insert wise-ass comment here.

;-)