The 2016 elections are a year-and-a-half away, but it’s already clear the likely Democrat and Republican candidates are committed to business as usual in Washington. It’s doubtful there will be any meaningful changes in Congress, none, at least, that will translate into gains for working people, those who can’t find jobs, or those struggling to survive on low-paying jobs.
With that in mind, I’d like to suggest an alternative candidate for 2016: Vote for Nobody! Nobody will keep election promises. Nobody will listen to your concerns. Nobody will help the poor and unemployed. Nobody tells the truth. If Nobody gets elected, conditions will improve for everyone!
Of course that’s all in jest, but it raises an important point. Working people are increasingly disconnected from politicians in Washington and the state capitol. The laws they pass are more likely to benefit a handful of wealthy donors or transnational corporation than any of us.
With that in mind, it’s time we explore solutions that actually work for regular people: working folks, students, the unemployed, the disabled, retired people, etc. We can’t rely on the government or politicians to solve our problems for us.
So much time and so many resources are spent getting politicians elected. Those resources might be better spent working in our communities to find solutions that don’t rely on the broken machinery of the state. We know best how to fix the problems in our communities. So why do we keep electing representatives who we know are out of touch, who represent the interests of an elite group? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results has gotten us nowhere.
Nobody will look out for you after the 2016 election — that’s a promise!
We’ve been conditioned to rely on politicians to handle our problems and that social change is impossible without asking permission from the state, to the point we feel powerless to do anything about it. Collectively, as a community, we do have power. When we work together we can build stronger communities, the kind that work in the interest of everyone. The government, with its mountains of paperwork, automated “customer service” systems, and hours of waiting in line just to get a permit or approval for some new project, only hinders our ability to get things done. We can rely only on ourselves, and our neighbors, to improve conditions and build a better tomorrow.
I’m voting for Nobody in the next election. I won’t discourage anyone else from voting, but I do encourage folks to give these issues serious consideration. Will voting for politicians one day every two or four years, then complaining that nothing ever changes when we get home, really get us anywhere? And if not, what can we do about it? Let’s start in our communities and coordinate with similar groups in other communities to address our problems today. We have the power to make the change we want to see in this world. November 2016 is still a long way off and the clock is ticking.
Note: This statement was submitted as a letter to the editor for the May 27th edition of the Dahlonega Nugget
Making Noise in the South 