Limits To My Bossiness

I opened my email this morning and was greeted by an action alert from CREDO. The subject line read

Tell Chevron: Clean up your toxic mess in Ecuador.

I am sure this is an important problem, that there are many people whose health is affected by the dirty deeds of this corporation. But I just don't have the energy to click on yet another link and sign yet another petition to chastise yet another evildoer for their evil deeds.

As it is, I am losing the will to tell my daughter to clean up the toxic mess in her room. And that impacts me a whole lot more than Ecuadorian messes.

I have to confess that I question whether the petitions that I'm constantly urged to sign -

Tell Starbucks: Offer espresso shots, not gunshot!

Stop the corporate takeover of our government!

Tell the Obama Administration to Protect America's Wetlands!

really make a difference.

I'm still idealistic enough to think that submitting a public comment at a government hearing can have an impact. And an issue like Monsanto's dangerous genetic engineering of crops moves me to take action:

Stop Monsanto's GMO Contamination

But there is a tiny voice inside that says I can be as activist as I want and it won't matter. That the moneyed interests will always win. I know that's not true; I've worked on enough political campaigns to know that it makes a difference who is leading us because they can prevent some of the bad things from happening. If the bad guys get their candidates into office, it will be so much easier for them to perpetrate their nefariousness.

So I'll remain involved in the electoral process to support good candidates, and endeavor to communicate with them and their staffs when an issue comes to my attention. But I can't split myself in two, and right now, I need to tell my daughter to clean her room.

Hmm....do you think a petition would help?

Please add your comments and sign my petition below to call on Daring Daughter to clean her room.

I am writing in regard to the room at the top of the stairs, and I demand that Daring Daughter reject a life of messiness. DD may not believe it matters if her room is a pigsty, but I certainly do.

Homes must be free of the threat of contamination and DD must not put her fellow family members lives at risk. This is unacceptable.

Please do everything in your power to restore the strength of the home's cleanliness - and please do so quickly.

Yeah, I don't think petitions are effective. And I can't just elect a new candidate for daughter...

I'm really screwed.