First, Give the Man His Fish Dinner...

... then, when he is no longer starving to death, teach him to catch his own food.

This has been the mantra that keeps me going through this trying time of political confusion, blatant classism, and public apathy in response to the destruction of democracy's greatest weapon against forced ignorance, gluttonous greed, and governmental tyranny.

Metaphor Explained Ad Nauseum:

• School Librarians & School Libraries = the "Man" or "Him"
• Permanent School Librarian Positions & Strong School Library Programs = the "Fish"
• The Advocate = the Implied Subject
• Professional Development in Library Marketing for Sustainable Programs = Teaching to Fish
• Systematic and proactive advertising, outreach, and promotion of the stuff that makes School Librarians and Libraries essential to the academic achievement of students, lifelong learning of educators, and intellectual freedom of all patrons = the Independent, Ongoing Act of Fishing

The Moral & Lesson
ALA has made it unbelievably easy for all of us to be politically savvy library advocates with their capwiz tool on the "Issues & Advocacy" page.

Here, let me show you.

Step 1 - click on this link: http://capwiz.com/ala/home/
Step 2 - enter your zip code in the box (yes, just look over to the right, yep, you got it)
Step 3 - notice the glaringly bright and visually offensive box near the top of the page. If you are color blind (is that still PC?), it looks a lot like this:








Step 4 - click on all featured links and submit a letter to your elected leaders. Oh, and please, if you could just find a few minutes of your time, DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

** Bonus ** The information fields auto fill for faster fishing, I mean advocacy.

Oh, and in case you missed this point:

An Organized Group of Employed Librarians = the assurance that America is really and truly and always run by the people, for the people, because the people will have servant-leaders who ensure access to information and processes that make this form of government possible for everyone.

When you have eaten your fill of fillet, here are some more fishing tips.

• Actually read the text you send to your political powers-that-be
• While reading, pay close attention to the vocabulary that will allow you to intelligently articulate the main political issues, and your own position on said issues, when the opportunities arise
• Go through the other issues that are not quite so time sensitive, but just as important
• Pass this tackle box on to your colleagues and supporters, then teach them how to fish

Presto-Chango! You are no longer the starving man. You my friend are now the Advocate! Pass it on.
Thank you ALA for giving us the fish dinner, the tackle box, and the fishing lesson in one neat package for the low, low, price of free.
P.S.

Butler DAWGS, you RAWK!