Originally published November 28, 2023

Election Day. Voting Day. It should be a national holiday, but it is not. I’m going with my roommate to vote later this morning or early afternoon. I’m excited about voting. I do not only see it as one of our greatest rights, but our greatest duties as citizens. People complain about the government, about the way things are run, that taxes are so high for some and so low for others, where those tax dollars actually go. People complain we wage wars against other countries that have nothing to do with us, yet these very same people do not vote. Colin Kaepernick started a movement when he protested during the National Anthem by taking a knee, and, yet, he has not voted. Ever. He says he’s against the system of oppression.* But it is the system we have. And review after review finds no voting fraud, or very minimal voter fraud. The reviews and court cases show it is a free and fair election. Yet he does not vote.
I have started asking people who complain what they have done about the issues they are most concerned about. Most of the time they bitch to their friends, coworkers, strangers in line at the store checkout. Yet almost none of them can tell you who their town’s elected officials are, who their state legislators are. Who their state representatives at the congressional level are.** None of them have written a letter, sent an email, or called any of their elected officials. Yet they continue to complain on a daily.
Perhaps they feel powerless, and they very well could be, but have any of them even tried to change things? No! Not the ones I spoke to. They will continue to complain to others for the rest of their lives. Accomplishing nothing except bloviating and raising their blood pressure. Most if not all government meetings are open to the public. When was the last time you went to a township council meeting? Or the local fire department? Or visited your representatives? Or Senators? How many letters or phone calls have you made to the President? Heck, you can fill out the “Contact Us” form on the website for any of these officials. Even better, when was the last time you ran for public office? At any level? Local school board? Local town council? Mayor? State level official? Federal-level official? Have you even looked into any of them? I forget who said it but “Be the change you wish to see.”
For the People, By the People. Be that person who gets involved. Be that person who runs for office so you can enact the changes you wish to see. If running for office is beyond your reach, work on a campaign. Volunteer your time. Become a paid staffer. Get involved somehow. Do something more than bitching about the people who are getting involved but doing it wrong. Because you can do it, too. How much time do you spend complaining? How much time do you spend watching tv? Take some of that time and do something with it. Stop whining and start working. And it is work. But it’s work that can shape the future. It is work that can make things better, for yourself, your family, your community, hopefully everyone. Be the change you wish to see. Get out there and make the world better. Stop complaining and start doing.
**You can find your federal, state, and local elected officials on the USA.gov website: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials