The three stages of voting are registration, education and participation. Throughout this nation’s history, people have fought and died in order to vote. During the country’s beginning, only white men who were land owners could vote. The 15th Amendment to the US Constitution gave all men the right to vote. Not until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 did women have the right to vote. Just because you have the right, does not mean you are able to vote. There are actions taken by local and state governments to take that right away from the undervalued, underestimated and marginalized. This is because the oppressor realizes how powerful the vote is of the oppressed. The oppressor realizes the power of the vote is the greatest of equalizers.
Please make sure you are registered to vote. Everyone in your household 18 and older should be registered. Everyone on your street, your block and in your community should value their ability to have their voices to be heard. Next, we should be knowledgeable about the issues and how they will affect us. For years, I would vote Democratic just because that was what I knew. I did not understand the issues or how they would affect me. That is not good enough. I had to learn the issues and keep those in power accountable. We must learn the issues and how candidates feel about the issues and vote accordingly. No one group should take our votes for granted. We need to know the issues, so we do not vote against our own self-interest.
Your vote is just as important as my vote. Our votes are just as valuable as anyone’s regardless of your age, race, sex, occupation, financial status, whether you are a land owner, house owner, renter, doctor, entrepreneur or unemployed. The problem is we do not exercise this option and the rich continue to stay healthy while the sick stay poor. We have several elections this year which gives us an opportunity to make serious changes to our condition.
Last week we saw the special election in Pennsylvania in which Conor Lamb upset Rick Saccone and won by 627 votes. This was a huge upset because Rick Saccone had the full backing of the president who won the district by over 20 percent in 2016. Therefore, it is up to us to throw our support for those who will best represent us and then hold them accountable once they are able to represent us. We must be active past election day by staying in contact with our representatives. If you are looking for a way to keep up with the issues, there’s an app for that. I recommend you download the 5 Calls App. This app can help turn passive participation into active resistance. It will advise you on who to call regarding issues going on when change is needed.
Please feel free to contact me thomsustainableconsulting@gmail.com. Or you can follow me on Twitter @tcsheff. #Resist #WordsActionChange
