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| Photo Courtesy of Mani’s Musing |
Petition Signing Drives me Crazy!
I forgot how much I liked going door to door and speaking to residents. I learn something new each time I let someone tell me their story, and I was able to learn more about the rich tapestry that is Upper Darby.
Tonight, I am not feeling the love at all. Door after door slammed in my face as I tried to get signatures for committee people. The committee people are the ones you go to when your trash STILL hasn’t been picked up, or you need the Councilperson or Mayor for an issue. Committee people make it happen.
I need ten frigging signatures per petition. Why is that so hard?
Continuing with Black History Month (I have been so got dang busy this week!) I would like the record to show the following:
- Black woman with Cassandra Wilson red locs does not equal Democrat.
- Not all Republicans think that the poor choose to be poor or that people enjoy handouts. It’s downright degrading to have to sit in the county office and explain why you need something to eat.
- Not all Republicans feel like the unemployed are lazy waiting for a handout. As one of the unemployed, I know how discouraging it feels to fill out the application, take that damn test (the one that asks you stuff like would you tell if someone is stealing), you electronically sign, redo your resume because that what all the sites say, then get a thank you but no thank you letter or email – if you’re lucky.
- These following people were Republican:
- Martin Luther King
- Mary McLeod Bethune
- Frederick Douglass
- Carter G. Woodson
- Booker T. Washington
- Harriet Tubman
- Sojourner Truth
Repeat after me: we are not sheep. The right to vote is a privilege. We have the opportunity with a press of a button to make changes in our lives. We need to take this seriously.
My venting comes two fold. Upper Darby has many many steps. And going up and down steps hurts my knee. I can deal with that because it’s part of the job. But when my back wants to join in the fun coupled with the rudeness of people…sis is tired. I’m frustrated, I’m annoyed.
We need to learn to vote the ISSUE not the PARTY. We need to vote the PERSON not the PARTY. There are too many people who think they are Ken Rudin (look him up on NPR) or one of the other talking heads that we see on TV. We are not. Just because you started a blog on Blogger and WordPress does not a journalist make. Research your facts. Know who you are choosing to represent you. Know whose face it is that you are saying no and slamming the door in. Listen and hear me. You might hear something new than the same old same old.
Rant/vent over. I implore people to please:
- read multiple newspapers daily
- watch the news
- stomach as much as the opposition as possible (usually a half an hour with snarky tweets is all I can tolerate)
- do your research for yourself. Not what Sally Mae from round the way told you her sister heard in the beauty shop. Learn for your self. It’s your vote that counts (I didn’t win by 22 votes, so yes, EVERY VOTE counts).
- Attend community meetings. Sometimes we need something as little as a person taking names for an email list to a person who may know how to design a website, Facebook Page, or blog..
- Attendance at Township Council is a must. Why sit and kvetch with your neighbors about lack of (fill in the blank with your complaint) when you have 11 folks voted in office to represent you? Council Meetings are public and held the third Wednesday of every month at 7:30 at 100 Garrett Road, 2nd Floor. Sign in by 7:15 if you wish to address the council with your issue.
Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.
“The world is a dangerous place not because of those who do evil but because of those who look on and do nothing.
Don’t talk about it, be about it.
Voting. Just getting people to vote is half the problem. I hate to think how many people I know who have NEVER, yes I said NEVER, voted. Not in a presidential election or even a local election. But who are the first people to complain? You got it, those ‘oh I never vote’ people. The other thing that gets me is some people think all Republicans are clones someone like Rush Limbaugh. Few of us on either side are extemists. We just want dignity for people. A chance at a paycheck. For our children to have a better life than we did. So yes, I get out and vote. I’m not a Republican. I vote for the person whose policies most reflect my personal opinions and family needs. So I want unemployment revamped, I want social security protected, and I want funds available for the disabled. I’d rather spend money on health care and education than guns and war. So that’s how I vote. And on occasion, when I know my person doesn’t have a prayer of getting elected, I vote for whoever is the lesser evil.Sending you some cyber-cortisone for yor knee, try accupunccture for your back.
It’s funny you say this. I’m seriously considering waving the white flag! People aren’t getting it. Everything from parents complaining at scouts to residents complaining about trash. I’m…annoyed, frustrated, discouraged, cold, achy, and tired of the lip service. If you aren’t part of the process you are definitely not part of the solution.
Sorry to hear hear you are being painted with the same brush as the current repubs running for president. But, be like the Republicans you named, keep fighting even though things are hard.