Due to a lack of interest in helping to facilitate a march for transportation, the scheduled event for July 31st, 2018 has been cancelled. It’s not something that we had advertised, just an event that was brought up in passing in recent discussions. An email was sent about a week or two ago to those of you on the direct email list asking for help to organize this event, but no one responded in enough time to sufficiently begin planning. More events are already being planned (for this year and next), so please look out for that information.
Public events are difficult to organize, and it is even harder to get people to participate. Still, if we hope to make a difference – for progressive change – then we must be prepared to do more than simply “liking” and commenting on social media. A number of you are out there and involved in numerous causes, and that is admirable (KEEP IT UP!), yet, there are far too many who follow the messages of this organization without directly getting involved in some way. The question which must be asked is “why?”
You may be working 40+ hours a week. Your work hours may be inconvenient for political activism. Childcare needs might be a factor. Health issues may be disabling your involvement. It also may be the case that you – as noted before – are overwhelmed with other activism. All of those are justifiable reasons for not getting engaged fully, but there may be some way that you can lend a hand.
If you can’t attend meetings or at least participate in organized events, offer to help promote these things in whatever spare time you may have. Obviously, you can always spend your free time composing letters to the editor, writing, messaging, or calling loved ones as well as our elected officials. There is always something that you can do. Not sure what to do? Just ask for advice and we will be sure to send you a list of possible tasks.
As for those of you whose only excuse is that you want to spend your free time at home relaxing, the question must be reiterated: why?! Why is it more important for you to relax than to be out there demanding progressive change? Are you not concerned about the future of this country? Don’t you care about the assault on everything we progressives have accomplished? There is a very real ideological war raging – against our values and against democracy itself – and you are sitting there in front of your computer or television and/or holding that damn phone in front of your face instead of getting up and resolving to do anything in your power to make a difference? Why?!
Don’t you know that your vote isn’t enough? No wonder why so many of our peers consistently say they don’t vote because “it doesn’t change anything”. In fact, the problem is that too many of us who do vote just go back to our daily lives and do nothing to demand that our representatives take action. That – the lack of consistent and persistent activism – is the self-fulfilling prophecy which enables the nonvoters to claim that voting doesn’t matter!
There are numerous activists trying their best to make a difference, but we can’t do this all alone. No, not anymore. This is a serious, all-hands-on-deck, emergency and you – yes, YOU – are a citizen ON CALL for DUTY. There’s no excuse for your lack of interest in activism in this day and age unless you are childless, have no surviving loved ones, and care only about yourself. Even then, it is STILL in your best interest to do something.
THE VERY LEAST you can do is to help spread the word on the various causes you see shared by the Licking County Progressives and the numerous like-minded organizations. However, if you have nothing which significantly prevents your participation, doing the LEAST is inexcusable. The point is that we need you to do more than bitch about politics amongst coworkers and loved ones, and if you don’t really care then we need you to start caring.
Pay attention to what is going on at the local, state, national, and international stages. At every single level our values are under siege by the forces of greed, fascism, and injustice. If you are a progressive you MUST be determined to help in a concrete way and there is no better time than now for you to start.
With love,
Daniel – Licking County Progressives
The Licking County Progressives 