Politics. It’s like the dirty word that everyone is sick of hearing, but there is no getting around the fact that politics are essential. Going through the political process is the only way to achieve the objective of promoting good government. We can’t throw our hands up in disgust and turn away from it, instead we need to remember that we are the “We” in “We the people” and if we want things to change for the better than it is “we” that have to make that happen.

We need to engage in the process. Too many people died to give us the right to engage in this process. We should never take that for granted and we should never disrespect the sacrifices they made to give us the opportunity to engage.

We need to vote responsibly. We shouldn’t cast a vote without putting thought into it. We need to take initiative to understand the basis of each issue by reading about the issues and having civil discussions with others about them. Don’t just consider one point of few. Gather facts. Hear different sides. Consider other points of view. Then once you have adequate information thoughtfully make your own decision based on what you feel is right.

We need to know our parties platform. We can’t just join a party because our grandparents or parents were in that party. We should know our parties platform and make sure that we actually agree with what our party stands for. If we don’t then we should switch to the party we do agree with.

We need to be responsible citizens. We need to do everything in our power to elect good leaders and enact good laws.

It has been said that a country gets the government it deserves. If that is true then we should all take a good hard look at how “we the people” have allowed things to become the way they are. Then “we the people” had better get off our behinds and start working hard to help elect leaders that will administer the laws of the land in equity and justice on our behalf.

~Amy