“We should ask the American people to be patriotic about something other than war.” - John Edwards

During the dark days of World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called on the nation to step up to the challenge and work together to overcome the threat of global fascism. Americans, many of whom who had so recently “went without” out of necessity during the great depression, agreed to go without again because that was what was required to meet the great challenge of the age. The sacrifice of “the greatest generation” is our legacy as Americans, and sets an example that we must live up to in facing today's great global challenges: widespread poverty and the global warming crisis.

In a call to each and every one of us, Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards has asked us to join him in taking action now to meet these great challenges. John Edward’s One Corps is a people-powered organization designed to allow any of us to coordinate with other like-minded citizens in taking action in our communities. Whether we're collecting for food banks, engaging in political activism, making changes in our own lives, or raising awareness of all of this in our communities, One Corps is building a coordinated movement to address our great global challenges both as individuals and as a political community.

As a people-powered organization, One Corps is a work in progress, growing in breadth as new members join and contribute their ideas about what kinds of action we can take to address poverty and global warming today. Here's my idea: encourage everybody to take the New Patriotism Challenge. I want your help in designing the New Patriotism Challenge. The New Patriotism Challenge will be like a checklist of things you can do in your daily life to help fight poverty and end global warming, divided into several categories. Every week, participants choose and perform one selection from each category. Example:

Energy/Environment: Pick a day of the week, and on that day do one of the following…
• Turn out the lights whenever you leave a room.
• Replace one of your old-fashioned light bulbs with an energy-saver light bulb
• Don't watch any TV.
• Don’t drive by yourself – carpool, ride the bus, ride a bike, etc…
• Take a short shower, and try not to use excess water all day (for example, if you're feeling adventurous, don’t flush the toilet until you really need to).
Food: Pick a day of the week, and on that day do one of the following…
• Choose something from your cupboard to donate to your local food bank.
• Go to a restaurant and split a dish with someone else, instead of ordering separate dishes. Set aside the money you saved to donate to UNICEF or your local food bank.
Spread the word: Pick a day of the week, and on that day do one of the following…
• Write a letter to the editor about the New Patriotism Challenge, or something you’re learning from the experience.
• Talk with someone you know about the New Patriotism Challenge and your experiences with it so far.

Any suggestions for new categories and new checklist items? I think the Challenge items should be somewhat easy, because one of the main purposes of the Challenge is to get participants thinking about how their daily lives and choices impact the world and our collective future. Any other thoughts or suggestions on the Challenge?

Robin Ozretich is a captain of One Corps Corvallis.