My husband is a history buff, and he's been saying for a while now what Gingerzingi noted in her comment: "No empire or government is eternal." He phrases it a little differently, saying, "All governments fail."
And they do.
And ours is.
And it's up to WE THE PEOPLE to right the ship.
Elizabeth City, NC, elected a new city council member yesterday. You might not think a small city council race could make a difference, but believe me, this one did.
Mr. King, an East Carolina State University student, lives on campus. He was at first denied the right to run for the seat because he had a campus address. The NC Board of Elections overturned that ruling. In this election, that one decision led to change Elizabeth City and the entire state of North Carolina can believe in.
North Carolina's GOP legislature doesn't even want students voting, let alone running for office and winning elections. Mr. King fought the law and North Carolina – or at least Elizabeth City – won. I like to think this is the pebble in the pond, rippling out to affect others who might be thinking about challenging incumbents in local races.
Because no matter how trite it sounds, all politics is local.
I've been thinking of running for our county's Democratic Executive Committee. The only reason I've backed off is because the incumbents I would have to challenge are doing a fine job. It would be an ego thing for me, and would likely damage two friendships. But your Democratic Executive Committee might need you. Consider running for that position, especially if you find it's difficult to fill the spots. Believe me, sometimes it is!
My Democratic activism is well-placed at the county and state levels with the Federation of Democratic Women (link leads to National FDW website). Every county in the nation should have a local chapter. Some don't, but if yours does, please consider joining and working for Democrats in 2014. Dues are generally nominal, and you'll find yourself working with great women. And maybe even scolding a Senator.
If your county hasn't organized a local group, contact your state federation and ask how you can help get one going.
Like Gingerzingi, I have little tolerance for those who bitch but don't vote.* If Democrats, who traditionally stay home in droves during off-year elections, do so again next year, these United States will continue to decline. The rich will get even richer. The poor will be left to fend for themselves.
Republicans refuse to raise the minimum wage and can't wait to cut government programs which help the needy. They don't want to provide contraception OR abortions. They are at odds with themselves and so help me [deity of your choice] they are at odds with the founding principles of this nation.
Wow. Two consecutive soapbox posts. I guess I hope to inspire and motivate you to do at least two things:
- Get involved locally.
- Vote for Democrats.
And then maybe three more:
- Speak up.
- Speak out.
- Get in the way.
*I recently met a woman who was born in Canada, and has lived and worked most of her life here in the U.S., but has never applied for American citizenship and, thus, has never voted. But she doesn't shy away from expressing her disdain for Democrats and thinks Reagan was a good President. She and I will never be BFFs.
4 comments:
It's all over the news that the latest AP-GfK survey shows congress has an approval rating of 5%. The poll was conducted Oct. 3-7 and involved online interviews with 1,227 adults.
That means 5% would be 61.35 people. If they hadn't used the word "adults", I'd wonder if 61.35 congresspersons had been among those polled. Lord knows they're not doing their jobs, so they've got plenty of time for taking online polls. I know which one is the .35, but I'm not saying.
Don't get rid of your soapbox just yet, Debbi. Every voice matters.
Great post! I am sitting here chuckling as my hubby is a very vocal anti-Reagan person. Poor man freaked out when we were at a place to eat on vacation when he noticed we were on Ronald Reagan Blvd. He wanted to leave, but the town was limited in places and hunger won out. I can guarantee he will look up places in advance now.
"Get involved locally." YES. Presidential candidates don't come out of thin air. Neither do members of Congress. They start out on a town council, then become mayor, then a state legislator, maybe governor, etc. The people have to vote them in, for the entire path. It's so much better to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, in electing our representatives, when they are small and local enough that we can get some idea of their beliefs and ethics.
You may enjoy this recent poll that finds Americans prefer cockroaches and hemmorhoids to Congress:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/09/231015154/americans-prefer-hemorrhoids-and-cockroaches-to-congress
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