In This Time… Are They Listening?
In This Time… Our Congress has forgotten their primary responsibility. Our representatives were elected to take what they here in their communities, take it back to Congress and craft laws that will improve conditions for our citizenry. Our representatives were elected to be a check and balance to the executive branch. Our representatives were elected to protect our rights.
In This Time… There are so many distractions. Politicians are jockeying for position trying to keep their jobs that they are neglecting to do their jobs. Now is prime time, during all of this noise, for our representatives to listen. I hope that they are listening. I hope that they are reaching out to the people that they represent and asking them what they believe are the solutions to this cultural and political crisis in which we find ourselves. I hope they are taking what they are hearing and doing the work for which they were elected to do.
In this Time… We need to remember that our representatives work for us. Our job is to hold our representatives accountable and force them to do their jobs. But, what kind of bosses are we? Are we taking every opportunity to speak up? If we are demanding that they listen to us, what are we saying? What are we calling for? How are we telling them to represent us?
In this time… There are many issues on which we should be voicing our opinions. My priority issues are health care, safety net programs, a fair budget, income equality and protection of our rights. I, for one, would like to see universal health care for all, as I consider health care as a human right. I would like to see full funding for the safety net programs – Medicaid, housing, food, employment services. I would like to see a tax code that was fair across income levels. The top one percent should be paying their fair share as the rest of us. I would like to see laws that protect those who have been discriminated against be it race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion and/or class.
In this time… What are your priorities? What are you communicating to your representatives…your employees? We may ask our reps if they are listening, but first, we must ask ourselves, what are we telling them to listen to?
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
Shirley Chisholm
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table bring a folding chair.”
Shirley Chisholm