Words matter. Yes, actions speak louder than words. But before any action comes the word that describes it, and even if that word is spoken only to ourselves as we initiate the act, it matters. The words we choose reveal the motive behind the act as well as establish the parameters of the the actions we engage in. When I think back on all the words that have issued forth from the mouths of Republicans since the Gingrich Revolution, I realize that all those words have dripped with disdain for anyone or any social institution that did not conform to their narrow view of "America" sic. How they think that they can create and sustain an inclusive society when they so disparage individuals and our social structures as well is not a mystery to me. Their words actually are appropriate to their cause because an inclusive society is not their goal.
This fall, we have an opportunity to reward a politician whose words speak eloquently of restoring our political processes so that they can aid us in the quest for an inclusive society that raises up all of us. In voting for Zephyr Teachout for Governor in the New York State Democratic Primary on Sept. 9, you can register a vote for a politician who inspires us to act upon our better natures, not our basest fears. Someone who sees government as a powerful force for justice and equality. Her words below the break.
"I believe that one of the jobs of a politician is to bear passionate witness to people's lives as they live them.
If corruption is when public figures serve themselves, instead of their constituents, the opposite of corruption is love of the public. And the first sign of the absence of that kind of public love is the absence of attention.
We are at the edge of a great moment in politics--I felt it at the march in Staten Island last week to witness Eric Garner's life and death.
There are other huge shifts--consider the fracktivists success in keeping hydrofracking out of New York is one of the greatest environmental victory in decades. Remember the loud parents and teachers at the Picket-in-the-Pines called out the Governor for privatizing our schools, and the Brooklyn community's refusal to allow Long Island College Hospital to be sold silently.
All of movements are rising up in anger and love, anger at the growing inequality and privatization, and a genuine, public love, a care and attention to the public good that has always been at the heart of our best politics.
No politics is perfect, but if we give up on injustice, and bearing witness to each others lives, and resisting privatization, we give up on ourselves, and our future.
This moment--this election, September 9--is about what kind of New York we want, who we are, and what we value. And don't let anyone tell you that we can't have a more equal, open, vibrant economy and democracy, or that the only institutions that matter are those that make a profit.
We are so much more than that. Nine more days to make history and shock the world. Thanks."
-(Zephyr Teachout FB status update 8/31/2014
The task of bringing her message to enough voters to make a difference in the days that remain may be too great. She may not be able to overcome her late entry into the fray. But a vote for Zephyr Teachout is not a "wasted vote." It is a vote in support of politicians who inspire us to be our better selves. It is a vote in support of political rhetoric that is inclusive and that says our institutions can be a powerful force for change if corruption can be weeded out.
And what if she should win? If the words quoted above are the wellspring for her actions, then I have no fears about the actions of Gov. Teachout.