Americans Want to Help!

When I first returned from Iraq I was often angry at the perception I had that Americans didn't care at all about the sacrifices that are being made on their behalf every day. These sacrifices are being made by troops stationed all around the world, of course most notably in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have since come to realize that there are a lot of American who do care, who would like to do something short of picking up a rifle, but a lot more than "going shopping" to defeat the terrorists. All of these good people and their potential efforts are largely going untapped and being ignored because there has been silence from our nation's leaders as to how the average American can help. I believe there are simple things that can be done and recommended that would change the public's perception and would galvanize our great nation to face the fight we have ahead of us. Let's start with the government selling War Bonds - they were wildly successful during WWII. Maybe we don't need Victory Gardens or Aluminum Drives, but however much they were needed during the war, they certainly galvanized the nation into a common sacrifice and made people feel patriotic in simple and discrete ways. People will continue to sit on their couches watching American Idol unless our leaders give them some ideas of how to really help.