My answer is YES

It's so much more powerful to say YES. Do you know what I mean? I believe in being FOR something I want instead of AGAINST something I don't. If I find myself in a state of anger or anxiety over the world or politics or even a situation in my own life, I try to think about what I would like to see happen instead of complaining and worrying about what I don't want to see happen. I feel like its easier to create a positive outcome when you come at the issue with a positive state of mind. Therefore, I'm pro-sober driving, not against drunk driving. I'm for HEALTHY LIVING, not against cancer, aids, SARS or whatever else threatens us. I am for EQUALITY, not against discrimination. Do you see the distinction and how much different it makes your feel inside? I think you need to understand this fact about me so that you can understand WHY I decided to do this blog.

If I want to see more jobs in my city, if I want to see a stronger community, if I want to see less reliance on fossil fuels, if I want to see better connections between us and our government, if I want to keep the unique personality of my city (and not a strip mall city), if I want to see LOCALLY produced healthy food, if I want to keep our small businesses alive and keep more of them arriving, if I want to see equal access to education and a lot of other good things too, then it makes sense to do everything in my power to support local businesses. It all comes down to that. Spending locally puts 75% back into our local economy. This increases the tax money our city has to fix our roads, pay our teachers, support programs to help our most vulnerable. Small businesses have proven to employ a lot more people than corporations and especially now when many corporations are hiring overseas. A job close to home means less driving. A product locally created doesn't require shipping across country in a gas guzzling truck. Small businesses are often more willing to donate and support our non-profit organizations and participate more in community events.  

Some people might feel compelled to camp out and carry signs to express what they believe in. I fully support them. I just have a different form of protest. I want to help Tacoma appreciate Tacoma and help the rest of the world appreciate it too. If Tacoma takes care of Tacoma we'll be a lot less dependent on the Federal Government. If Tacoma revenues increase, maybe one day we can be completely self-sustained in every way including feeding ourselves and getting power from resources right here like hydro, solar and wind. I have a vision for Tacoma that would completely change our skyline. I would love to look at Tacoma and see rooftop gardens, windmills, solar panels, satellite dishes providing city wide wifi.  But we'll start with baby steps. 


Who knew shopping was such an act of activism! That's right guys, you vote with your dollars. If you are against Corporate Personhood, you can send a message by not giving corporations quite so much of your hard earned wages. Corporations only care about their bottom line. It's their legal obligation to make decisions that make profits for their shareholders. So if you want to communicate with them, you have to speak in a language they understand, sales figures. I hope this gives you somethings to think about.


Without even trying this blog has attracted visitors from other parts of the world. I wonder what would happen if I got really serious about this and gave it slick new look and did some marketing for it? Maybe some time in the future I'll have time for that. For now I'm relying on YOU to tell people about it. And you've been doing a fantastic job by the way! Check this out:




XOXO,
Duchess of Downtown

Comments

  1. Duchess of Downtown TacomaFebruary 8, 2012 at 9:23 PM

    FYI - we've now had over 3100 visitors to this blog! Thank you for appreciating downtown Tacoma! :)

    ReplyDelete

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