There’s an old saying from the activist ’60s: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. On Feb. 5, you have a chance to be part of the solution — by participating in Colorado’s caucuses.
It’s national politics made local, and you can help make history.
Recently retired from journalism and therefore unshackled from the profession’s prohibitions against participating in partisan politics, it’s thrilling for me to lobby for issues of concern and to support my candidate of choice. There is so much to be done to restore luster to our country’s tarnished reputation for greed, warmongering and constitution-bashing.
Something terrible happened to this country while we sniffled with Oprah and vicariously danced with the stars. Between escalating mortgage rates and people going haywire with guns, we became casual spectators to life.
I’m not looking on anymore.
In 2008, I will take a training course with the Colorado American Civil Liberties Union to help stem the evisceration of civil liberties that has taken place in recent years. Then it’s into battle on behalf of a single-payer national health plan. There’s no reason Canada can do it and we can’t. (Disagree? Prove me wrong.)
You don’t have to be retired to make a difference. You just need a conscience. Age has nothing to do with it. Start with unwanted, unplanned babies who might never know affection once they leave the maternity ward. Hold them and sing to them, even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket.
I’m going to find out how many members of the NRA really believe ordinary citizens should own assault weapons, and how many are just noisy wing nuts who think they understand the right to bear arms.
While I’m at it, I want to understand why AT&T and Verizon felt comfortable surrendering civilian telephone calls and e-mails to the government without proper warrants.
More of us need to step up and help people get to the polls. Never mind who they vote for, just see to it they can pull that lever or fill in those blanks. Be a poll monitor.
We continue to be a remarkably generous nation, as long as we don’t have to get involved. That’s not good enough. Make this a year to get involved.
Luck, good fortune and divine intervention have been governing forces throughout my 66 years. Retiring was not, as they say, on my radar screen. But here I am. And as civic and political craziness gets crazier, the only way to deal with it is to deal with it. Already I’m making my voice heard at rallies and in letters of protest. Our senators, Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard, might not know me, but by now they know my name.
Next up, I’ll be among those arguing for a return of the draft. Want to see us out of Iraq? Let’s draft everyone’s son and daughter of a certain age. Maybe our next president will think twice before plunging us headlong into an ill-advised conflict.
From now until August, when the Democrats convene here, I’m asking candidates to talk about their plans for the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast. Remember Katrina? Betcha land speculators and real estate developers do.
Martin Luther King once said, “Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time with when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic nor popular; but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.”
Start making it right by showing up Feb. 5 to make your voice heard. Now is the time to be part of the solution.
Ellen Sweets retired last year as a food writer for The Post. For information on the Feb. 5 Colorado caucuses, go to denvergop.org or call 303-782-9555; or denverdemocrats.org, 303-830-8242.
