We “…of…by…for….”
PRENOTE: Monday Jan 25 is the International Day of Education Symposium, presented by UNESCO. Details here (scroll down to first item). I’m registered.
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Call to Action: The last phrase of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, Nov. 18, 1863, says it all: “…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
The supreme authority of this Democracy, our Republic, the United States of America, is articulated in the very first sentence of the Constitution of the U.S., “We, the people….”
We, the people, own the success, or the failure, of this complex system called the United States, and the planet of which we are only a small but very significant part. This is truer now than it has ever been. We will determine what we are, and what we will be.
What the future will be now is in the hands of my children’s generation (ages 40s and 50s). There are big risks…and opportunities…in their near and more distant future. We elders can advise them; but they will decide their fate, and that of their children.
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We have now seen the beginning of the 2021 New Year and the change in government in a way few of us have likely ever seen. 2021 reminds me of the late 1960s.
Monday, Jan. 25, basically begins the New Year of our U.S. government. Of course, there have been actions of that government in the last few days, but for reasons we all had an opportunity to observe in real time, we are off to a particularly ragged start with multiple and very serious issues facing us.
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So, where do you stand as this New Year begins? And how do you make sure your voice is heard by those who make decisions as your representative at the local, state and national level?
Do you know who has been elected to represent you at all levels, from local to national? And do you know how to effectively reach them, all of them? If you were in their shoes, how much would they appreciate your way of communication with them?
Your “circles” are important too…the people you know, and who know you.
Write down their names and how to connect with them…and connect, if nothing more than a brief note to begin. They will notice.
Sure, you’re only one, but you are one.
Identify a hero, somebody who you think has made a positive difference. Here are a few Gandhi quotations to start with.
You can’t impact on the system by yelling at the television; or saying to yourself that your opinion doesn’t matter anyway; or that those who surround you in various ways – family, etc. – are fools; or that your lawmaker must listen only to your opinion; or that the winner takes all, and the loser has no voice.
President Biden’s mantra “build back better” is not an idle phrase.
You..and me…and everyone…are a voice of one. That is what a democracy is. You are the future.
POSTNOTE: Just Above Sunset: Thinly Veiled Innuendo; George Conway in today”s Washington Post.
COMMENTS:
from Fred: A friend sent a concise Washington Post review of our ex-prez.
Late news story. The Trump campaign paid many of the leaders of the January 6, 2021 insurrection and attempted coup just to keep Donnie in power. That is, the man who had taken a sworn oath to uphold the Constitution had paid operatives in place trying to overturn the Constitution! How dangerous and absolutely pathetic let alone ignorant and arrogant from the five-time draft dodging bully who publicly referred to any and all men and women who served in the armed forces of the United States of America especially those who were wounded, captured ro killed as suckers and losers. This while wrapping himself in the flag and claiming to be the greatest president ever, aka, commander-in-chief, ever! Just unbelievable!