Sound Off: Spirit of the North Valley

From Terry Riley:
What a day it was Saturday at the Spirit of the North Valley event! The sun was bright, the sky was New Mexico blue, and people were smiling and chatting with people that they didn't know and people they hadn't seen for a long time. A community get-together. We need more of this. I feel privileged to have been a part of it, my first time. I could have gone every year for the last eight years that I have lived in the north valley, I just didn't think, I was "busy".

I went because I am politically motivated, I was spreading the word about Democracy for New Mexico, Voter Verifiable Paper Ballots, Bernalillo County Democratic Party, AND Veterans for Peace.  Many politicians were there glad handing anybody who would listen, kids were running around, hamburgers and burritos were cooking, it was just a wonderful place to be.

In the middle of all of this happiness we at the Veterans for Peace booth were able to talk with a lot of people about the risks of Bush's next war and the need to stop his current wars. Nobody who spoke with us was of a different opinion. Many were unaware that Iran is now on the horizon but they all expressed concern that we have no business trying to take over the world.

An opinion that I have was reinforced strongly. We no longer have to teach people about the mess that we are in. We now have to teach people that they can change things and we have to give them opportunities to be part of making those changes. I think that the things that we have been working on at the State Democratic Party are the kind of things that can be handled locally and that they are affecting things nationally. We do need to become more vocal and we need more people involved. Now is a good time to become involved.

Thank you for listening, Terry Riley

Editor's Note: Sound Off is a regular feature here, providing an opportunity for readers to submit a commentary on any political topic and have it posted. If you'd like to submit a Sound Off, email me your post by clicking on the link on the upper left-hand side of the main page that says Email Me.