Three ways to be We the People
The disruption of politics-as-usual in the United States is a golden opportunity.
For whom is up to you.
Interruption of the political status quo makes room for new kinds of politics. But remember: “Nature abhors a vacuum.” The opportunity for new kinds of politics is fleeting and many will try to seize it.
In history, these fleeting moments of political opportunity are ripe for evil.
They can also be ripe for good. It takes good people being bolder, faster, and smarter than people who mean to do bad things.
In other words, it takes you acting now.
Small groups of people in positions of power may plot and scheme, but none of them are a match for We the People when We the People are at our best.
So, I invite you to do three simple things to be a servant leader in our society now. If you do these three things (and encourage others to do them with you), We the People will seize this moment of political possibility.
1. Make your voice count. Ask: Where can I speak that what I say will make a real difference in politics? For example, limit your involvement in endless, fruitless arguments on Facebook. Instead, call your members of congress. Call them every day and tell them what you want them to do as clearly as you can. They really do keep track and they really do make decisions on the basis of what constituents tell them. It doesn’t take much time to make a phone call when you want your members of congress to vote a certain way. That’s another way of saying: You have no excuse for not doing it.
2. Avoid partisanship. The people in Washington are not the only unreasonable partisans. We the People are guilty, too. People who clearly have no intention of ever changing their minds or considering other possibilities are a waste of your time. When you sense you’re among people or in a conversation that is exacerbating rather than solving problems, get out. Look for events, groups, and occasions where people may not agree, but they want to find common ground to move all of us forward together. Make sure you are always someone who calls people to focus on what they have in common rather than their differences.
3. Organize (or find an organization). You may feel powerless and small when you consider the entrenched money, parties, and politicians in faraway Washington, D.C. You will feel more powerful when you join together with others who want We the People to lead our own country. Influence in American politics is a matter of organization. So find a group close to home that is doing something, even if it’s just a class or discussion group that exists to help people build empathy and understanding with each other. If you want to become active in civics, do not join a political party. Find a local group of grassroots citizens to join. Several are forming now and, at this moment in time, they are fairly bi-partisan and manage to bring people together from different points of the political spectrum. I’m active in Brand New Congress and Indivisible. My experience with my local Indivisible group has been particularly positive. We’re a mix of Democrats, independents, and Republicans who are taking initiative to let our members of congress know our ideas and concerns in a coordinated way.
Americans have been waiting for at least two decades for a breakdown in the entrenched political system to that a “third way” could emerge.
That moment is happening now, but it will be fleeting and there is no guarantee that someone or something evil will not fill it.
We the People have to create that “third way” and make a new kind of politics in the United States.
What I want you to take from this is that the “third way” is not up to someone else; it’s up to you. Act now.