"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." -- Thomas Paine

"You know it took us 80 years to get to where we are today and it's going to take us 80 years to contain it and start to unravel it. It's not going to all happen tomorrow and if people think it's going to happen tomorrow, then they tend to give up and don't take the little steps that they need to take today. We need to start with the little steps. We need to start chipping away and that is how we get back in the game." -- Mark Levin

If you want to turn the tide in this country, you don't need to wait for some leader to ride up on a white horse so you can take his orders. Nor do you have to be a Rush Limbaugh, Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, or Billy Graham to start making a difference. To the contrary, what you will find is that when there is a big enough, enthusiastic enough army of foot soldiers who want to get this country back on track, a worthy leader will emerge to carry out their wishes.

The key to getting to that point is for YOU PERSONALLY to do what you can, with what you have, where you're at -- for the good of this country. Once there are enough of us who have that philosophy, you will be surprised at how fast this country can start to turn around.

Towards that end, here are some small suggested actions that YOU PERSONALLY, in your everyday life, can do. In fact, many of these actions are so small you may not think that they'll make a difference at all. But, from tiny acorns, mighty Oaks do grow.

1) Read the Constitution and read the Bible: If you understand the Constitution and the Bible, you'll understand the foundations of this country and will be better able to tell when the country or the church is going astray.

2) Support and/or join organizations that are making a positive difference: There are a lot of great groups out there fighting the good fight, including but not limited to: Americans for Prosperity, The Club for Growth, The Leadership Institute, The National Rifle Association, NumbersUSA, Media Research Center, and The Sam Adams Alliance. Your local church could use your support as well.

3) Go to your local Tea Parties: Shake a few hands, read a few fliers, listen to some speeches. It'll be fun and it'll help you connect with other likeminded folks.

4) Get involved with local politics: Everybody gets excited about electing Presidents, senators, governors, and Congressmen, but the school boards, precinct delegates, comptrollers, and other less glamorous positions are more important than people think. Furthermore, a handful of determined people whose efforts might barely be noticed in a big race can often have a tremendous impact on these small contests.

5) Join the Republican Party: If you're an Independent, Libertarian, Reform Party member, or Constitution Party member, join the GOP and try to reform one of the two parties that runs everything, from within -- instead of pointing out all the things that are wrong with it from outside the party and being ignored.

6) Volunteer to help a political candidate: Even if you don't have any candidate you like enough to help locally, phone banking through the internet is common enough now that you can definitely make a difference somewhere for a candidate who genuinely deserves your support.

7) Give God his due: If you're a Christian and you achieve something worthwhile, publicly let people know that God deserves a lot of the credit for your achievement.

8) Pray: Pray for your family, your friends, your country, and yourself.

9) Ask your pastor to make short videos: One of the things Christianity most desperately needs in this microwave culture is charismatic pastors who can do short 2-4 minute explanations of Biblical stories and Christian beliefs that can be put on video. One pastor with a tiny flock can make a video, put it on YouTube, and reach tens of thousands of people, many of whom normally never step foot in a church.

10) Church: If you're a Christian, go to church. Take your children. Invite your friends to go to church with you. Continued...