Knowmore.org‘s tagline is “Vote With Your Wallet.” But money isn’t the only thing you can spend when it comes to supporting causes. Like the oft-repeated saying goes, time is money and we can also invest time to support what we believe in. While previously I’ve been able to volunteer on my own time and without any scheduling conflicts with work, this year I’m taking November 4th off from work to volunteer for Equality Maine, a group lobbying for equal rights in the LGBT community in Maine. Without any discriminatory policies on the ballot in Maine, the group is nonetheless advocating equal rights without having to compete with conservative opposition.

Though I have no plans of getting married any time soon, if ever, to deny the LGBT to community something that is afforded to the rest of the population makes me incredibly irate. I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, I believe that people need to remind those who would tell us otherwise that separate but equal is not equal and that to pretend it is is unconstitutional: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” (from Amendment 14 Section 1 of the Bill of Rights).

As you may have guessed, I feel pretty strongly about this issue. And rather than just complaining about it, I’ll be foregoing part of my paycheck to do something about it. My Protestant work ethic is recoiling at the idea of simply taking a day off (I once showed up to class less than twelve hours after breaking my ankle and spending the night in the ER), sometimes it’s important to remember that there really are more important things than work alone. Of course, not everyone agrees with me but to me marriage is a potent symbol that we cannot afford to ignore.

I encourage any of you, particularly if you’re from Florida and California where this issue is again being revisited, to check out what you can do to volunteer in support, or for any other issue you feel passionate about. After all, providing you don’t have to take too much time off of work, volunteering is a good, cheap activity that can also increase your happiness level.

As my high-school physics teacher said, “the government should not decide who I am, or who you are.” And part of a democracy is making yourself heard.

Be sure also to check out this guide to choosing a president; it is sound, rational, and non-partisan. Simply scroll down to the bottom where he breaks down some key points.