Monday, January 10, 2011

Conversation with a young patriot

I've been emailing back and forth with a former student this past week, and I thought I would share some of my end of the conversation in case it is of interest to anyone else:

[in response to an email about the shooting in Arizona...]


I totally understand how you are feeling.  It is a horrific incident and these kinds of things - violence in politics - naturally cause many caring people to question if there is any hope.  Coupled with the multitude of challenges our country faces, and the nature of political discourse these days (to say nothing of the campaign finance fiasco), it's all too easy to become disheartened.

I've felt it, too.  I've been in a funk for over a week, and part of it is feeling so frustrated and even angry about all this stuff - and that was before the shooting!  But, ultimately, we both have a simple choice:

Tune out, stop paying attention, and stop caring.  Live our lives in a bubble and pretend this stuff does not matter and that we can't make a difference.  OR,...

Do something!  Figure out what really matters and find a way to get involved.  Make a difference.  Or, at least, try to fight the good fight.

You are smart, you get it, and you care.  You have some important skills.  If not you, then who?  There are lots of other good people out there who care.  Find them.  The power truly lies in the fact that we are still a democracy, and if people raise their voices, they can make a difference.  Even the Tea Party has made a difference (not necessarily for the better, but a difference nonetheless).

[my reply to questions about how to decide where and how to get involved...]

Ultimately, I think it comes down to trusting your gut - which issue(s) really move you?  You also could look at it in terms of which issue gives you the most leverage to make progress on others. 
 
Focus on clarifying the big picture for you, then just take a step a day in that direction.  Don't worry about the "how" or whether it seems doable or not.  Find people on campus who share your interest/passion.  Put up flyers and organize a meeting.  Form a club/organization.  Then figure out who else beyond your campus cares and network with them.  That's a start....
 
So what next?  Here's where my thinking is headed, for what it's worth:
 
It seems to me that the system is broken.  Neither party is really capable/willing to what's necessary because big money has a stranglehold on the campaign process.  So it's either create a third party (Robert Reich and others are starting to talk about it...) or push for a constitutional amendment to fix campaign financing, since the Supreme Court really screwed that up.
 
It's either that or... use the deficit/budget debate, which is getting into high gear now, as a wedge to force a debate on short- and long-term priorities. 
 
Thoughts?  I think you need to do some networking on campus to find some like-minded patriots...

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