Atlanta Dunia

If I vote, I will go to Jury = Duty=85

I=20 dream about wearing a big hat on my head that says: =93anyone who does = NOT vote=20 WILL get jury duty,=94 just to make a point.
The Department of Motor = Vehicles=20 is required to give their list to the Federal and State Jury services. = In other=20 words, if you drive in the state of Georgia, you can be called for jury = duty.=20 So, would you please tell this to everyone you know you have spread this = myth to=20 in the past? Otherwise, this idea will continue to be passed down with = our=20 family recipes and traditions.

Recently, I began traveling around = Atlanta=20 and north-Georgia with my team of volunteers doing voter registration = drives at=20 Indian-American events. Besides learning of this jury-duty myth in our=20 community, we had a few other interesting discoveries.

Basically, = we saw=20 five different kinds of Indian-Americans:
First, the ineligible, = non-citizen=20 voters, who may be more informed than Indian-American citizens but = believe their=20 voice, or opinion, does not count at all.
Second, the defiant, = citizen=20 voters, who refuse to vote even if they are registered to vote. They = have no=20 interest in the political system and see no value in voting or=20 participating.

By, Dhruti=20 Contractor
GIAPAC-Mobile Chair
dhruti@giapac-mobile.org=20

Third, the skeptical or faithless citizen voters, who consider = voting but=20 do not vote because they think it makes no difference in their daily = lives.=20 These folks are most likely to tell us that voting causes them = annoyances like=20 jury duty.
Fourth, the blind, citizen voters and donors, who vote = regularly=20 and even donate money, but do not know candidates=92 priorities or issue = stances.=20 They believe their vote and money matters, but they do not take the time = to hold=20 their representatives accountable after elections.
Fifth, (and our = favorite),=20 the informed, citizen activist voters and donors, who know their vote = and money=20 matters and why, and they will let the representatives know they are=20 watching.

Politics is relevant in all our lives regardless of = citizenship=20 and how much we ignore it. Will fear and apathy of being politically = engaged=20 continue to be passed down through members of our community? When will = our=20 community gain the confidence and skills to approach the U.S. political = system=20 to claim the rights given to all who live, work, and play here?
What = do we=20 propose to do about the 90% of us that are somewhat =96 let=92s say =96 = politically=20 challenged?
Since our culture teaches responsibility for self and = the=20 community, we intend outreach to each of them in different ways with a = goal to=20 create a strong base of informed Indian-American active citizen voters = and=20 non-citizen activists.

Who are we and what can you do to=20 help?
GIAPAC-Mobile is the active arm of a non-partisan, = non-profit=20 Indian-American political discussion group started in late October 2001: = (http://groups.yahoo.com/gr= oup/GIAPAC/) =20 In March 2004, we took a step forward for political awareness and action = in=20 service of the Indian-American community in Georgia. We provide the = following=20 services and opportunities to get involved: voter registration and = education=20 drives, one-page candidate descriptions, Indian-American candidate and = campaign=20 training, issue-based forums, and candidate meet-ups. =

Indian-Americans=20 make up almost 1% of the population in metro-Atlanta, and we have chance = this=20 election-year to voice our 1% loud and proud. Do your part and take 5 = minutes to=20 remind one friend or family member to vote this year. If you do know why = your=20 vote counts, use your 5 minutes to call us, and we will help you find = out for=20 yourself.

More information can be found at http://www.giapac-mobile.org/.= =20