I am just a teacher. I vote, I blog, and I Facebook, but I have no money to support the political causes that I fight for. And I am up against this.
That's right. Jeb Bush has millions of dollars, and yet he is raising money to campaign against teacher rights. I will need to find a job waiting tables to pay the mortgage since all Summer School has been canceled, and yet he is going to make sure that my 27 years of experience mean nothing so I can be fired to make way for someone who makes less money.
It makes me mad. Someone with his power and financial stability gets to squash 240,000 little teachers and get away with it.
Oh, did I mention that part of his agenda is getting government funding for religious schools?
This is what Jeb Bush and the Florida Republicans want.
Tallahassee — Separation of church and state is a celebrated American principle, but Republican lawmakers say Florida has too much of it.
The Florida Senate's Education PreK-12 Committee approved a constitutional amendment proposal Tuesday that would repeal a century-old ban on public funding of religious organizations. The 6-2 vote fell along party lines.
It is being pitched as the "religious freedom" bill by Republican leaders.
The measure would strike from the Constitution: "No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination."
It would add: "An individual may not be barred from participating in any public program because that individual has freely chosen to use his or her program benefits at a religious provider."
Hoo boy. These guys are something else. They snuck that through yesterday while we were all protesting Senate Bill 6. Here I am fighting for my life against a law that will destroy everything I have worked for, and they bring the right hook from the blindside.
I don't know what to do.
I want to continue fighting. I want to become a force that they cannot deny. Here at Daily Kos our Teachers Movement was honored by holding two of the Top Thirty spots on the Weekly Impact chart, so I know there is support for our cause. I don't want that momentum to stop.
I am inspired by the Chris Bowers article that Meteor Blades put on the front page. I think I can do this.
No matter who you are, if you want to make a difference in politics, then you persuade people to join you in a cause. Once you do that, then you convince them to take a collective action on behalf of that cause (even if that action is just voting). And then, most importantly, if that actions ends up making a difference on behalf of that cause, then you will probably be more persuasive and convincing in the future.
That's it. There is no great strategy to be unearthed. There is no secret that everyone else working in politics has missed. It's just persuasion and organizing.
So I guess the question becomes "How?" How do I forge an effective political force from the oppression that the Florida Republican legislature is imposing on the will of its people?
I write pretty well. One thing I can do is continue my daily diaries here on Daily Kos. I could even take requests, if this mess in Florida ever gets settled.
I have three blogs that I have set up, but none of them are political.
One is from my classes. That got us a partnership with the Miami Dolphins football team.
One is for a trading card game I like. Just a hobby, but rather obsessive and I like the look of it.
One is for my life and my art. That's just me.
So I guess I have the skills to start persuading and organizing.
I have a paypal account to collect donations.
I have the will, and I know there is a way.
Any suggestions? I need all the advice I can get.