“Your silence will not protect you.”
Audre Lorde

There seems to be a misconception that changes in law begin on Capital Hill. Nothing could be further from the truth! Changes begin at the grassroots level. People of like minds gather and petition their representatives to take their cause to the house, whether that means the state House or the federal one. Ideally the representative will represent the will of the majority of his constituents as he or she is supposed to do and bring the matter to the attention of other members of the house. A bill will be written, considered, and voted on. If successful, it will move on to the senate where it is will also be considered and voted on. If unsuccessful it will be returned to the house where it may be rewritten and resubmitted, or it may for some reason be left to “die.” Many times that is because those at the grassroots level fail to push their cause by pressuring their lawmakers. If successfully passed by both the House and the Senate, the bill will move on to the governor or president for him or her to sign into law.

That all happens if those we elect (hire) to do a job for us actually do their job. Sometimes it seems they disregard the will of the people, preferring to follow their own agenda. When that happens, the people have the power to “fire” the “employee” they've hired in favor of someone who genuinely wants to represent his or her constituents. But even they need to know what the voters want.

The true power of the country, as provided by the United States Constitution, lies first with the people. It gives us that power by giving us the right to vote. If the voters fail to exercise their right to vote, they have given up their right to complain about the way things are handled. By not voting, they have given themselves no say in who gets the job, and is that really how we want to run the company, otherwise known as the United States of America?

c. 2024