As the events in Ferguson, Missouri, become more and more heated, I am left looking at the next phase in the overall discussion the country should be having.
While many have taken this as a chance to talk about the increasing militarization of police, or to press the ongoing effects of racism in this country, I'm left thinking of these more as symptoms of the underlying disease.
After all the demonstrations, after all the protests, before all the anger and righteous fires and tides of change recede, how do we translate this great energy people feel into great action?
The answer seems pretty clear to me: If you are moved by the images and turmoil you have seen in Ferguson Missouri, or perhaps even closer to home, you will turn out to vote in November 2014.
Because at times like this, people are always looking for a way to turn their energy into some meaningful action. And while many acts of protest are quite powerful and valuable actions in their own right and I would never diminish any gesture people use to voice their opinions, there is one that will have the most meaningful effect. And what more proof do we need than to point out just how hard the people who are most afraid of this are working just to keep us from voting?
For too long, the people in this country have been left feeling impotent to affect real change that will help move our nation forward. It is time to remind them that there is a very simple way for their voices to be heard.
First and foremost, they must vote.
For those of us who have been paying attention, the insidious link that ties many of the turbulent events that shake our foundations, is the relationship they have to the overall Conservative ideology.
Some may object to the provocative nature of comparing a political ideology to sickness, but in both nature and results, the two seem quite similar to me. Like a disease, the Conservative ideology causes the most damage where it can't be easily detected, eats away at the host and steals its resources, and does its best to hide the damage it does, until it has completed its mission to infect even more people.
The militarized police state, the treatment of immigration issues with displays of force rather than humanitarian response, the dehumanization of the lower classes of people, the abolishment of social protective programs; these are all mere symptoms of the more pervasive sickness that is the Conservative worldview, that seeks, rather than drive us forward into the 21st Century, to drag us back to the 1st.
The outrageous displays of force by Ferguson police, by the NYPD, by the Albequerque PD, and even the Stand Your Ground laws made famous in Florida with Trayvon Martin.
The cutting of basic safety nets that help the most needy, cutting the extension of unemployment benefits, the refusal to expand Medicaid, and stereotyping the recipients as lazy or drug users.
The facilitating of lax gun laws, and of selling these weapons internationally as well as domestically, and entangling the US in battles that require manufacturing these weapons.
The victimization of the residents and loyal workers of Michigan so Rick Snyder can transfer millions of dollars to his corporate buddies, the schemes of a Christie administration that targets its political opponents, the bleeding of the Philadelphia school systems dry, the abuses of power and corruption.
The connection between these seemingly disparate issues may be obscured, but the costs of overlooking the subtle bond are quite clear. Because this time, it was a black teenager who was gunned down in cold blood. The next time, it could be a Muslim with a backpack, or a hispanic child suspected of illegally crossing the border, or a doctor who works at an abortion clinic.
These are all symptomatic of a Conservative worldview where the poor, the coloreds, the disenfranchised, are to be treated with contempt, with distrust, and most importantly, with condescension. They are all to be denigrated, scapegoated, and most importantly, blamed for their misfortunes, rather than commiserated with.
The system is not supposed to work for them. They are not supposed to find support in the courts, in the emergency rooms, in the police stations, in the prisons. And amazingly at the very same time, these are all supposed to work towards the profits of the Conservatives and their Corporate supporters.
These are all issues that are intrinsic to Republican ideology and tactics. And they are all issues than can all be addressed by one thing in particular: voting the culprits out of office.
One party is responsible for the majority of the injustices we see on a daily basis. One party benefits greatly from its association with the likes of the gun manufacturers, xenophobes, and plutocrats. One party has predominantly stood in the way of stronger regulations, stronger oversight, a more fair tax structure, and addressing violence and mental health. And one party has the most responsibility for the current dysnfunction we face in our nation's governance.
Sure, one of the first objections will be to point out the instances where Democrats have contributed as well, especially when it comes to the false-equivalence-loving mainstream media. But let us not forget that it is only the Republican Party that routinely sets about sabotaging any and every policy that does not adhere to its draconian set of goals. There is practically no example where Republican obstruction did not have a hand in making the problem harder to solve, even when both parties generally agreed to solve it.
When people see the events that transpire in Ferguson, and they get angry, they want to protest, they want to get up and take action.
And when they do, we must remind them of two things. First, that their anger is just, and two, that the most important action they can take, is to vote.
Indeed, it is only the first step of many, but it is also the one that will make the most difference in our goals toward a better country.
Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing
-John Stuart Mill
If you hear someone express their anger over the events in Ferguson, tell them that if their anger is genuine, then they should vote this November, to send a message to the Party that has allowed the events of Ferguson to transpire, and will allow them to continue again and again, if we don't get them out of office.