By the People, For the People: AlterNet Readers Send Their Messages to Obama

By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet. Posted January 9, 2009.

100 Words for 100 Days has been an on-going project that we here at AlterNet launched, fittingly enough, over Thanksgiving weekend. We asked our readers to submit essays, around one hundred words in length, describing what they hoped Obama's first one hundred days in office would look like. Whether they were broad visions or exact policy examination, we wanted to know what was on the minds of members of the AlterNet community.

The response we received was overwhelming. Hundreds of submissions poured in, and many still arrive every day. Our readers have jumped at the chance to let their voices be heard, hoping that Obama's call for ideas from everyday Americans wasn't an empty campaign promise, but a foundation for a more democratic tomorrow.

Below we've assembled just a few of our readers' submissions; those that touch on the issues that most concerned AlterNet readers, from the economy to drug laws, foreign policy to investigating the Bush administration. But these are just a handful of the many submissions we received. We will be sending all of the essays that were published to the Obama transition team in hopes that the voices of our readers are heard by the soon to be established administration.

To view more of our readers' insightful work, please visit our 100 Words for 100 Days project page.

Worried that it's too late for you to join the conversation? Not at all. Leave your hopes and dreams for Obama's first one hundred days in the comments below. Lastly, and most importantly, a huge thank you to each and every individual who participated in the 100 Words for 100 Days project. Your essays were inspiring, and we look forward to asking for more submissions from our readers in the future. Let's hope that January 20, 2009 ushers in a true spirit of "by the people, for the people."

100 Words for 100 Days

Honor the Constitution

By: Matthew Graybosch

For over a hundred years, for Bush is not the only one guilty of this crime, our presidents have been oath-breakers. They swore to preserve and protect the Constitution. In reality, they ignored inconvenient provisions of the Constitution while paying lip service to the parts they liked. What will Barack Obama do? Will he be an oath-breaker like his predecessors? Or will he honor the Constitution and persuade Congress to do the same by working within its limits? Will Obama persuade Congress to amend the Constitution instead of ignoring it? Will he use the right methods to reform the U.S. government and help the people of the United States, instead of deciding that the end justifies the means? That would be change I can believe in.

Rekindle Trust in the Government

By: Mary Hunter

The biggest step Barack Obama could take in his first 100 days would be to rekindle some degree of trust in the government. The most profound way to do this would be to instigate clean election processes on the federal level. To begin to disconnect legislators from corporate contributions would eventually enable real change on the economy, health care, the environment and our endless military adventures. Imagine what it would feel like to believe the government was actually working for the ordinary people who fund it! Obama's campaign put a down payment on that kind of future; now it's time for the rest.

Take a Global Approach to Economic Problems

By: Joan Scott

During his campaign, Barack Obama radiated a spirit of including all factors, even hatemongers. He should extend that inclusiveness to economics. Like it or not, globalization has happened. We should stop hearing about the "American economy" and make "global economy" our primary concern. Companies should stop the costly duplication of things like research in their wasteful wars of competition. They should learn to cooperate openly and fully -- this will be healthier for a global approach and in the spirit of service to humanity seeking that all create the best product in the ecologically safest way, not just customers of one specific company.

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