It's Time to Wake Up
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I believe it is high time people in this country woke up and took back the reigns of control of their country. We long ago went to sleep and let big business and big money run our country and our name into the ground. We have people going without food, shelter, basic medical, education, and adequate transportation to achieve any of these things on their own. We have allowed abuse and neglect to become common practices, while we turned our backs and buried our heads in the sand. I have lived through abuse on levels that left me with the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by the time I was 6. I was homeless from 13 until I was 18. I dropped out of school after completing the eighth grade in order to ensure my survival. At 19 I aced the GED test. At 21 I enrolled in community college. I am still currently trying to complete my forensic science degree, but keep having to slow down to ensure a job, housing and medical care. I am now 29 and have been trying all my life to get people to wake up and see that the things you don't do can have as much of an impact if not more than what you do accomplish. This country and its people have the greatest potential to be the greatest individuals and nation. I believe we now have the opprotunity to set the wrong things right and get officials into office who will listen and adhere to what their constituents want. This is our country and it is time we stood up for her.
It's one thing to say that "big money" rules our political system, but the bigger question is "What is to be done?" If people keep electing the same representatives, how do we get them to vote for people not ruled by "special interests?" How do we know that a representative is, in fact, ruled by big interests and not concern for their constituents. It's a recurring feature of polling that most Americans view Congress as beholden to interests, but not their own Congressman. How do we tell them apart?
The age old Russian question--What is to be done?
The other person responded with "What is to be Done"? I don't think we have to have all of the answers when a problem is voiced. We just have to have the courage and the conviction to say them, and then we as a group will find a way to fix them. We know that we are living in difficult times, but I am optimistic that we will find a way to fix them.
Keep Trying to Change things no matter what!
But this is the same thing that people in the US have been screaming about since the 1800s. The whole country agrees that Congress is not accountable, that the government doesn't care about "the people," and yet nothing ever changes. At this point, we need solutions.
Everyone thinks that their own Congresspeople are responsive, it's just all of the other ones who don't get it. This is why incumbents win so easily year after year. Either Americans are blind to their own Congresspeople, or they are more responsive to their own constituents than people think. (I'm inclined to believe the latter.)
I'm as frustrated as anyone. As someone who is extremely liberal in social matters and fairly liberal in other matters, I know that I am rarely represented in Congress. But I also realize that my Senators and Congressperson closer matches my community than I do. (We just elected a more liberal Congressman, to replace our old more-conservative Congresswoman, and this makes me happy.)
There are things we can do: voter drives, canvassing, etc. And this whole blog is a start. But when the same complaint heard since the time of William Jennings Bryant is uttered again, with no thought on how to fix the problem, I do get a touch . . . cantakerous. (Which is really bad given how young I am.)