Imagine living in a democracy where each individual has an opportunity to be heard, where the workings of the federal government are open to scrutiny by ordinary citizens through the Internet, where the government seeks feedback from all people, and where they are both encouraged and even inspired to contribute positively to make a difference in their world.

Barack Obama has a vision of an open and interconnected democracy with a deeply involved citizenry that is fairly represented. He is committed to this concept at his very core and has demonstrated this commitment in countless ways throughout his career. The “change” that is the promise of Barack Obama’s campaign is not empty rhetoric.

In Obama’s government, all available technologies and methods will be harnessed to open up the federal government, creating a new level of transparency and ethics reform. Such unprecedented openness to the government’s inner workings will change the way business is conducted in Washington, and give Americans the chance to participate in government deliberations and decision-making in ways that were not possible only a few years ago. He recognizes that tapping into the vast and distributed expertise of the American citizenry will help government make more informed decisions. Obama’s legislative record has already amply demonstrated his commitment to ethics reform and transparency in government.

Obama’s drive to involve citizens in improving their society is at the core of what motivates his career in public service. Barack Obama recognizes that the citizenry is our country’s greatest resource. Community organizing is where his career began, and he continues to embrace its incredible power to mobilize, empower and create change for the better. He will tap into this significant resource of “people power” by greatly expanding opportunities for volunteerism at every level. Here are some of those plans, as gleaned from www.barackobama.com/issues/service:

. Triple the size of AmeriCorps, sending Corps volunteers to work in underserved classrooms, public health, weatherization and renewable energy projects, assisting veteran health and welfare, and community emergency response planning;

. Engage retiring Americans in service, tapping their knowledge and skill;

. Double the Peace Corps;

. Send American fluent speakers of local languages overseas to expand our public diplomacy;

. Seek 50 hours of community service a year from all middle and high school students and develop national guidelines for service-learning;

. Create and expand programs that give disadvantaged youth service and career training opportunities by building affordable housing and weatherizing old buildings;

. Establish a tax credit for college students worth $4,000 annually in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.

Imagine a president with this level of confidence in the capabilities of the American people. No wonder he was so dismayed at the opportunities squandered by President Bush after 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina, when citizens were ready to be mobilized – and our president exhorted us to “go shopping.”

One of Obama’s professors at Harvard Law School, Laurence H. Tribe, calls Barack Obama the most amazing student he has had in 37 years of teaching law. He said, “It was inspiring, absolutely inspiring, to see someone as brilliant as Barack Obama, as successful, someone who could’ve written his ticket on Wall Street, take all of the talent and all of the learning and decide to devote it to the community and to making people’s lives better.”

Barack Obama has truly demonstrated his ability to ignite the excitement and passions of a vast diversity of American people. In New Hampshire, I met an 80-year-old woman standing in the snow outside of a polling place, holding an Obama sign, her oxygen tank by her side and tubes feeding into her nostrils. Radiating enthusiasm, she told me that she has never been as proud to cast her vote for any presidential candidate as she was to cast her vote that day for Barack Obama.

Obama’s combination of specific plans and remarkable talent to inspire action does not come along very often. This is kind of president I want. This is the change we need.

If this is the change you would like to see, and you are a registered Democrat or unregistered, attend the Democratic caucus in your town on Sunday and cast your vote for Barack Obama.

You can learn more at www.barackobama.com.

Anita Brosius-Scott works in photography in Camden and is a member of the town’s select board.