Want change? Then get off your duff.

"Dear EJ: Loved your quick hit. The GOP is driving the country off a cliff. What can we progressives do about it? Signed, I'm Drowning in Despair." I got variations on this question a lot when I was a member of the Arizona Republic's editorial board. Hell, I still get it from friends and acquaintances. (In AZ ― i.e., GOP "Indian Country" ― Dems feel particularly besieged amid the conservative sagebrush here. We instinctively circle the wagons, even though that action mostly produces the same result as Custer's Last Stand. See the "Yours-Papers-Please" illegal immigration bill. But I digress.)

Today, both Matt Yglesias and Steve Benen touched on the topic of how the citizenry can pioneer change. So, mutiny aside, how do we influence the bridge officers who are steering the lumbering supertanker we call the United States? First, repeat after me: Politics Is Not A Spectator Sport. Yes, that's a cliche, as Benen noted, but that fact makes it no less true. The Tea Party has hijacked the GOP (and the national discourse) for a simple reason: They're mostly the ones doing all the yelling and voting. And I guarantee that the Good Ship America will flounder on the shoals if mainstream America lets it. If you don't participate or vote, you effectively hand the helm to the ignoramus down the block who does. Hope is not enough.

You want change you can believe in? Educate yourself about the issues you care about. Study the arguments of the other side (so you can later punch holes in them with elan). Learn a bit about American history. Michael Beschloss' book "The Presidents" is a good starting place. With your newfound knowledge, engage friends in political discourse. Educate them with the facts. Be passionate. Grab 'em by the collar if you have to (it's for their own good). Widely share good political articles or posts when you find them. Most websites make this easy. Recommend good blogs and political writers ― esp. those who have a sense of humor. I'd mostly avoid the cable talk shows (which exist for ratings not enlightenment). Instead, watch a panel discussion on C-SPAN occasionally. Volunteer for a local campaign. Pester your congressional representatives with letters, email and tweets. Write the White House, too. Inundate Mr. Obama (who is still a politician) with enough "input" and, trust me, he'll listen. And if you do nothing else, for the love of Mike, VOTE. By the way, this type of active, informed citizenry is exactly what the Founders had mind for America.

Even if you do only a fifth of the above, you'll still be more informed about politics than most Americans. So don't sit on your duff. Be a force multiplier. Your country needs you, now more than ever. Not convinced? Too much work? Obama isn't emoting enough to motivate me? My single vote is meaningless so why bother? Fine. It's a free country (so far). But if, as a progressive, you choose to pocket your electoral key and just be an American spectator, then get used to the sound of President Rick Perry or Queen Sarah Louise Palin I ― and the rushing whirlwind he or she will loosen upon the land.