In honor of Blog Action Day, I'm going to revisit my “day job:” a topic I haven't written about in months.

As I neared graduation with my bachelor's in fine arts, I realized I didn't want to support myself with my craft. In art school the mantra seems to be: work toward losing the day job, that is how you define absolute success.

Is it? What career options exist for the visual artist who wants other work; who cares deeply about social change but does not want to turn her art into political commentary? Certainly, my school's career center offered no viable options when I asked that question a couple years ago.

Luckily, I found AmeriCorps and enlisted as a VISTA (that is, Volunteers in Service to America). VISTA is the national service program dedicated to eradicating poverty in the U.S. -- a lofty goal, but one we've been striving for since 1964. The commitment is full-time for one year and comes with a modest living stipend and basic health benefits. A $4725 education award is payable upon successful completion of a term of service.

See, the idea of military service has always appealed to me, but it's just not possible given my personality type. Little did I know, folks like me have fantastic opportunities to serve our nation and make an enormous contribution to society.

I promised myself a short post this evening, but before I go I will say this: both Barack Obama and John McCain have said AmeriCorps needs to be expanded.  Obama actually promises to increase the ranks from 75,000 to 250,000. McCain rightly points out that anyone interested in “small government” should be advocating for such an expansion.

For once, the Republican Party is right, in theory if not in practice: government can't solve everyone's problems. What it can do is find programs in the non-profit sector that work and give them the funding they need to apply their solutions on a larger scale. It can draw upon the ingenuity and passion of the American people and give them the opportunity to go to work for our nation.

Polls are looking good for Barack these days, so I hope he follows through on his promise – and soon. Two out of three people haven't even heard of AmeriCorps, so I encourage you to check out what AmeriCorps has to offer for you, and if you're not called to serve, consider contacting your representatives and letting them know this solution should be the keystone to the war on poverty.