Vigilance works

March 1, 2013
This convoluted congressional battle over issues of gun control, debt reduction, sequester, immigration reforms, Section 5 of voting rights act, affordable care act and a hundred more concerns will go on forever at the expense of real and progressive reforms if people like us do nothing.
Whining and complaining till our faces turn blue won’t help. Mindless conversations without corresponding actions or actionable solutions will not get us anywhere either. Paying no attention to what’s going on in Washington just because you’re frustrated and have lost the last pint of faith in our leaders is the worst excuse for laziness and apathy.
There’s a better way to deal with this madness in Washington.
If you are extremely exasperated at the ineffectual leadership playing out there, you ought to let them know. Write them and unleash your disappointments and disagreement against the positions they took on issues that matter to you. Spell out your position, where you stand on those issues and explain why.
Enlist the support of similar thinking friends and advocates who will be willing to take that same extra step you took. Congressmen/women and Senators are more likely to listen to you when they see that you are well-informed of the issues and you have the number as opposed to being just a lonely voice of dissent.
Remember Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and how it grew and spilled over cities and other countries all over the world? OWS started as a protest movement in September 2011 in Zucotti Park, located in New York City’s financial district, Wall Street. Their slogan was one of the most successful ever, “We are the 99%.” It protested the social and economic inequality, corruption and greed and what’s perceived to be an undue influence of corporations on government. OWS may not be in the news or on TV lately but its revolutionary spirit must still be alive in every member’s heart. That kind of spirit doesn’t simply die and is bound to rise again in time.
When our political leaders continue to behave irresponsibly, when they sacrifice the good of their constituents and of this nation to satisfy the interests and demands of their big corporate and billionaire campaign donors, it is time to show our outrage, outrage in the form of peaceful but persistent and unwavering protests against their wicked practices.
Be proactive. Get involved. And make your own contributions to the cause. If you can’t march with the protesters, do your campaigning at home via all forms of social media or, simply make a donation.
Our sweetest revenge though is in the polls, where we can vote these unworthy politicians out and put an end to their self-serving and embarrassing careers.
Once proved vigilant on all fronts, we can get these politicians to listen to us instead of those special interest groups that corrupt them. By showing them we are not the passive voters they can fool with sweet promises and lies because we know the issues and we follow their votes in Congress, they will stop insulting our intelligence with their lies. They will shape up or they can ship out.
Yes, indeed, in a democratic society, vigilance works. It always does, especially at a time like this!