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| Getting in the Game…Still the most Important Step
Like many of you, I came kicking and screaming to the realization that there is, indeed, a direct correlation between that dastardly word…politics, and what happens in my everyday life. It didn't matter that I grew up in a household with outspoken, politically active parents in the pre-civil rights south. I was yet convinced that politics is for the politicians, and we everyday citizens had to take care of our own problems. Politicians, I told myself, were people of a different breed…and elections were popularity contests, period. Today, I am no longer a nay-sayer when it comes to politics, even with the incredible mar on American democracy: the 2000 presidential election. Even with this set-back for democracy, I yet believe the democratic political process works. My change in heart began in Arkansas, as I participated in a presidential campaign, experienced a victory, and, shortly thereafter, a more direct participation in American government…from the inside. It was during my eight years of working "in the eye of the storm," of front-row seats to politics in its rawest form, that I began a careful study of, and a new appreciation for the power of the democratic political process. It was during this once-in-a-lifetime experience that I learned that, whether we like it or not, politics does, indeed, affect every facet of our lives. I am now convinced that our one vote does count, and that minorities -- particularly African Americans - have to do everything in our power to assure our small voices are heard. Our vote is one assurance of that. It is when under-served citizens fail to participate in the political process, that our voices become inaudible…and, we risk the danger of becoming an insignificant constituency. I learned the truth and wisdom of an old adage used by career politicians: Democracy is not a spectators' sport. We cannot sit on the side-lines and talk about what kind of community, society, or world we want to live in; but, in the very next breath say we don't want to get involved…or, that our vote, and our voice doesn't count. There is no more important action we can take in life, than pulling that voting lever for the person, the cause, the party, the issues that we believe in -- and, in doing so, we vote "against" the issues that are not working for us and the people we know. Lastly, Tip O'Neill, one of the most successful of politicians, coined the phrase: All Politics is Local. Whatever the issue…be it the recent war on Iraq, President Bush's proposed tax cuts, or the Patriot's Act; each of these issues will affect the disenfranchised, their families and their communities at a disproportionate rate. Today, as the war dominates our airwaves, and the economy dominates our level of happiness; we must not overlook the fact that it is the men and women we vote into office, or fail to vote into office who has final decision-making power on these issues that so greatly affect our everyday lives. It is our power, however -- the power of the lever, that dictates who those decision makers will be. Don't be conned in 2003. Our participation in the political process, our keeping abreast of the issues, and our standing in that line to vote…are still very powerful acts. As adults we know there is no magic wand to make our world a perfect place to live. But, there is the power of the vote …something our forefathers fought and died for, that remains a mighty sword for people like you and me. Janis F. Kearney is a Chicago writer, former journalist and diarist to President Bill Clinton. A Harvard W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow, she is currently completing William Jefferson Clinton from Hope to Harlem; and a personal memoir, Cotton Field of Dreams. Kearney Communications 5138 S. Kenwood Ave.#2 Chicago, IL 60615 (773) 493-2007 --ph (773) 493-5747 -- fax janisfk@aol.com |
If you believe, as I did for many years, that politics is a process in futility; that your one vote doesn't count for a hill of beans because the real decisions about our lives are being made in Washington, D.C. Or, that what happens in Washington, D.C. has nothing to do with what happens in hometown, USA…I challenge you to think again.