After the Vote
An Essay of the Man from the North
by Rivera Sun
959 words
[Editor’s note: The Man from the North is a fictional character from Rivera Sun’s series of novels. She has him offering essays beyond her novels.]
The Vote - the beloved, abused, scorned, corrupted, stolen, hijacked, pointless, profound, hopeful, depressing, hard-won, cherished vote - is not the only way to take action for meaningful change. Currently, the elections operate in our nation like a cattle chute, all too often forcing us back into the deadly, no-win tracks of the two-party duopoly that serves primarily the moneyed class. It becomes a handy device for siphoning off the demand for revolutionary change by giving mostly false hope that elected officials will actually enact their campaign promises once in office.
Instead of taking matters into our own, capable, millions of hands, we vote to let someone else take care of it. And, in large part, these representatives do nothing beyond raising funds for their next campaign. We wind up hamstringing our movements over and over. We vote for Candidate X's promises of someday guaranteeing living wages instead of going on strike until we actually get them. We vote for Candidate Y's vow to someday ban assault weapons instead of picketing and blockading arms dealers. Instead of targeting fossil fuel investors, we try to elect politicians to craft legislation that, even if passed, is largely ignored by industry until they manage to get officials and judges in place to overturn the law.
It is maddening and infuriating. We have other - and better - options.
Change happens on many levels: cultural, economic, industrial, social, artistic, personal, psychological, spiritual, and more. We must work in all of them if we hope for lasting, systemic shifts. Don't be fooled by the annual circus of voting. Go vote, sure, but don't sit back down on the couch when you've cast your ballot. Go out into your community, businesses, churches, colleges, and so on, and work for the changes we wish to see in the world. In truth, no legislation has the power to enact the full scope of change without the cooperation of all those other institutions and the popular support in ordinary citizens.
Want living wages, for example? Change the sickening culture of greed and the hero worship of the criminals at the top of capitalism's cannibalistic food chain. Challenge the moral "right" our culture places upon exploitation and survival of the fittest. We will never see justice for workers while we salivate over billionaires and laud their "brilliance" (read: ruthless willingness to shove others under the bus) with which they "made their fortunes" (read: stolen from others by means of low wages, high prices, global exploitation, insider deals, destruction of the earth, corruption of democracy, self-serving laws and legislation.)
Elections and politics are the games of elites. We are whipped up each election cycle to serve as their cheering crowds at their jousting matches. It is no better than the feudal days of fighting for this king or that queen when the real struggle is the establishment of "nobles" and the theft of common land from the people. In the 1500s, the real struggle was not whether Queen Elizabeth of England and Mary Queen of Scots would sit on the throne, but rather, how ordinary women were being stripped of rights and lowered into the status of property. Neither Mary nor Elizabeth's rule stopped the rise of patriarchy into a monstrous beast that still echoes in the policies and practices of today.
History is long; I could go on with examples across nations, class, and creed. The real challenge of our times is not which super-wealthy Democratic or Republican regime gets to hand out sweet deals and lucky breaks to their friends, but how we, the people, wrest the state apparatus from the death-grip of the "nobility" of our times. Just as fighting for this king or that queen was not as vital as defending the commons, so do I warn you, today, about over-inflating the significance of the vote.
The idea is wonderful; our practice of it, deplorable. Never confuse those two. Prize our ideals. Exercise your right to vote - it is hard-won for 75 percent of our populace. But never allow its current, corrupted incarnation to distract you from working on cultural, economic, social, or any other type of change. Measure for measure, pour your courageous heart into all levels of change. If you spend 10 minutes reading a report about a candidates' forum, spend the same time reading about - and participating in - strikes for better wages or sit-ins to abolish mass incarceration or shut-downs of insurance offices for affordable healthcare. If you go door-to-door canvassing for a politician, spend an equal amount of time knocking on doors to build support for a boycott of exploitative goods. If you're willing to throw a house party for an election campaign, go to a local organizer and offer to throw a house party in support of their social justice cause. If you donate to a political campaign, donate to a movement, too.
These are just a few examples. Remember that the elections have become a massive industry. Many of our social justice movements remain shoestring, miracle-workers. Your time, skills, and donations are all deeply appreciated by your fellow citizens who are striving for significant change. Don't forget them during the shouting matches of our election circuses. Without our movements changing the hearts and minds and daily lives of ordinary people, the mere words on paper that make up legislation have no meaning. Laws are irrelevant if officials ignore them, courts reject them, and people disobey them. Do the legwork of making sure that the populace can uphold justice, not merely because it is the law, but because it is our will, our belief, and our sense of justice turned into a way of life. To do this, you must make change in every level of our lives.
–End–
Author/Activist Rivera Sun, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is the author of The Dandelion Insurrection and other books, and a nationally known movement trainer in strategic nonviolence
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Get a Behind-the-Scenes Preview as Associates Prepare for
Busiest Shopping Day of the Year
With Black Friday shopping just around the corner, local JCPenney teams are preparing for crowds of customers during the biggest shopping event of the year. JCPenney will open its doors for its Black Friday sale at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. We invite you to visit our stores for a behind-the-scenes preview of the biggest and most exciting JCPenney Black Friday event ever. We look forward to working with you on live segments, in-store interviews, trend stories and more.
WHEN:
Store preparations (Nov. 13 – 21)
- OR -
Book now to secure access on Thanksgiving Day opening at 2 p.m.
WHERE:
Local JCPenney stores. (Visit jcpenney.com for nearest location.)
STORY ELEMENTS:
· Interview a local General Manager about store preparations for Black Friday
· Interview customers to find out their shopping plans for Black Friday
· Showcase associates inside the stock room, hanging store signage and unloading merchandise from delivery trucks
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o $9.99 Tzumi® portable karaoke microphone with LED lights
o $14.99 St. John’s Bay® puffer vest for women with matching $4.99 St. John’s “Bark” puffer vest for dogs
o $15 and under beauty product deals from Sephora inside JCPenney
o $19.99 boots for the family
o $19.99 Cooks fast pot Jr. multicooker (after $20 mail-in rebate)
o $25 Q7 smartwatch
o $29.99 Eagle 3-pro Wi-Fi camera drone
o $55 Disney Collection princess 9-pk. deluxe doll set
o $149.95 FitBit Versa™ smartwatch
o $199.99 Xbox One S 1TB Minecraft bundle
o $399.99 55” LG UHD 4-K LED TV
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· If you are unable to visit a JCPenney store, download Holiday store b-roll.
HOW:
Contact: JCPenney Corporate Communications & Public Relations
972-431-3400 or jcpnews@jcp.com
Visit jcpnewsroom.com, the Company Blog or follow @jcpnews on Twitter for the latest announcements, images, and Company information.
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The Parent Power! Index measures the access that parents have to educational opportunities for their kids.
The Center for Education Reform (CER) released its 2018 Parent Power! Index (PPI), an exclusive study of parents' ability to exercise educational options for their children.
The Index scores each state, from 0-100, including the District of Columbia. It delves into state policy, looking at five “Elements of Power” that determine the extent to which educational choices and information are offered to families.
This year’s state leaders are Florida, Indiana, and Arizona.
“Education policy is not typically at the top of the list for most parents. They simply want schools that best fit their children’s needs and put them on a path toward lifelong learning,” said Jeanne Allen, the founder and chief executive of the Center for Education Reform. “When you give parents options, their voice becomes stronger and will trigger a new education model in this country- one that is innovative, personalized and fit for the 21st century.”
The Parent Power! Index gives families an interactive tool to see how their state ranks when it comes providing education choice and opportunity. Equally as important, the PPI shows parents in those low-ranked states – like West Virginia and North Dakota - what they can do to advocate for more control.
Among the Index’s findings this year are some disappointing results that show significant gaps in information and opportunity:
· Only 1 in 5 states offer a significant number of charter-school opportunities
· Only 11 states promote or provide incentives of any kind for personalized learning
For more information visit edreform.com.
State Spotlight:
Highest-Performing:
#1 Florida—86.0%
Florida consistently ranks as one of the strongest states in the country because of its relatively strong charter law and plentiful choices. More than 150,000 students throughout the state of Florida take advantage of the state’s four school choice programs. The Florida legislature has also enabled pilot programs to encourage personalized learning. These expansive opportunities pave the way for higher student achievement growth rates in the Sunshine State.
#2 Indiana—84.0%
Parents in Indiana are truly empowered. The state’s strong charter school law offers a wide variety of options. A path-breaking, statewide school choice program has attracted tens of thousands of parents who have chosen private schools for their children. Indiana also boasts a pretty decent record of teacher quality measures that put the public in the driver’s seat. There is plenty of room for the Hoosier state to catch up to its peers in implementing policies to foster personalized learning, but on the whole power rests with the parents.
#3 Arizona—83.0%
The freedom that marked the westward migration has never quite left the Grand Canyon State, where giving parents power is a priority. Arizona recently expanded access to education savings accounts, which means that now all students in the state can participate in one of the strongest opportunity programs in the country. In addition, Arizona’s charter law takes autonomy seriously and the state now has some of the most innovative charters in the nation. The state also has its eye on growing a high-quality teaching workforce, leveraging merit pay as one way to achieve that. Arizona’s commitment to transparency is clear, and this too is a benefit to students and families.
Lowest-Performing:
#51 West Virginia—10.0%
Anyone serious about finding an opportunity to shake up the establishment should take a trip to West Virginia. Parent power here is but a thought and almost nothing is happening to invigorate schools, empower parents, or restore excellence to education. At the very least, this state could promote policies for digital and personalized learning, which would increase opportunity and help the state provide education to its many rural students.
#50 North Dakota—12.0%
Parents in North Dakota have almost no power, which is one reason why the state lags on almost all measures of student achievement. Policymakers here shun innovations like personalized learning and fail to hold teachers accountable or invest in their growth. Consistently one of the lowest performing states on the index, North Dakota needs to do better by parents and kids.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.
