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In My Eyes: Politics For The 30 Something

7 Ways To Take A Stand
There is a new synonym for complacency… suicide.

I’ve come to the conclusion that complacency is equivalent to suicide. One definition of complacency is unconcern. Webster’s Dictionary defines unconcern as lack of care or interest; indifference. Based upon what I see and hear every day, I believe that we are in a hopeless state of complacency.

Ask yourself this- How often do you tell yourself that the situation is not going to change, so why bother? How often do you say that you’re the only one’s who want change, so why try? Even the organizations that are supposed to effect change rarely do. I don’t think any of our historical organizations have made a significant advancement in the last 25 years. Sure, they talk a good game, but when was the last time we pushed them to stand up for us on the forefront of radical change? I believe that we are fighting the same battles on different fronts. If it’s the same battle, have we grown?

When we become complacent, we are killing ourselves. We are murdering our generation, annihilating our people, stamping out our culture, martyring our roots, and belittling our ancestor’s sacrifices.

I should think that the dots connect themselves, but just in case, here is the breakdown. Political complacency is suicide. When we allow ourselves to get used to the status quo, when we just say “that’s the way it has to be, because that’s the way it’s been” we begin a downward spiral with no end. Elected leaders no longer feel that they have a responsibility to serve the very people who helped get them elected. People feel a sense of hopelessness. Those who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo prosper. The Man gets the brunt of the blame.

Communities die.

Politics is a nasty enough game to discourage you from willingly entering the fray. It truly is the good old boys network, and I admit that’s hard to breach. But that doesn’t change the fact that the time has come to stop pontificating and to start implementing. It’s very easy to sit around your living room with your man, in a coffee shop with your girls, or around the water cooler at work and discuss the problems of the world. Stop talking. Start doing. Get involved.

There are a million ways to get involved to effect change. Here are 7 ways to take a stand!

1) Get involved at home. Contact your City Hall, find out when the Town Meeting are - and go. Read the paper and join the Rotary. You pay real estate taxes? Get involved with the School Board. It’s the best way to find out what they are doing with your money.

2) Learn the importance of “little” elections. Most people only vote once every four years in the Presidential election. That, in my opinion, is one of the worst mistakes you can make. Vote for Governor, vote for Mayor, vote in mid-term elections, vote in the primary, and vote for State Representatives and Senators. Vote for Ward leaders. Hell, vote for the block captain. Every level of politics builds upon itself.

3) Learn who your elected officials are, and find out their voting records on various issues. All of this information is public and readily available. Do you have a political party? Discover how to do more than just being a card carrying member. You can go to www.yda.org if you are a Democrat and www.youngrepublicans.com if you are a Republican. Strongly suspect that there is no difference between the Right and the Left? Then have a look at www.gp.org, the website for the Green Party of the United States. Not really feeling a political party? Websites like www.MoveOn.org will keep you in the loop on a variety of topics. If you’re new to making political statements, they make it easy with on-line petitions and prefabricated letters that you can send to the editor of your local paper.

4) Have a passion for a certain issue? Volunteer for an organization that lobbies on a state and national level for your interests. If you are passionate about women’s reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood is a great organization to volunteer for. Interested in domestic abuse? Contact your County Office to find out what County organization runs shelters and hotlines in your area. Concerned about children and youth? Worried about homelessness? Contact your County’s child safety agency or housing agency. In many cases you can volunteer as a court advocate, or in other positions that allow you to be in direct contact with your local legislators.

5) Speaking of legislators, contact them. Repeatedly. Over and over again. Every time you strongly disagree, let them know. If they don’t know that you have a problem with the way that they handled something, how can they change? And if you really hate your representative…

6) …Run for office! If you don’t like the way things are being handled, convince people that you can make the change. If you’ve never run for office before, I would suggest that you start small. Run for, say, block captain, and parlay that into a spot on the township’s board. Perhaps you’ll be able to turn that into a County position. Sooner or later, you may find yourself headed to your State Capitol. Think not? Remember, nothing beats a failure but a try.

7) Finally, join a grassroots organization or start your own. Consider this: Under the cover of darkness, Pennsylvania legislators voted themselves a substantial pay raise, with a provision that they could begin collecting on that raise immediately. In the resulting outrage, organizations for change were formed around the state. As a voting bloc, these groups had the potential to wield substantial power over the state’s primary election.

The point is, if you have a concern about the way that things are run, chances are you’re not alone. In a vast majority of cases, you will find that there is already an organization that has been formed by individuals just like yourself. Cruise the net, contact your County office, ask your neighbor, call your mother. Find out how you can do what you like to do with people who share your vision for change- and for the love of God, do it!

Message Kamira A. Evans and tell her what you think

By Kamira A. Evans on 7/12/2006[read on] [8 comments]

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