Politics, it means your life! Really?
How many times have you heard a colleague say, “I hate politics!”? I’m sure you’ve had the experience when you’re talking to a friend about why they should vote for our endorsed candidate, or for the local referendum, when they blurt out, “Oh, I don’t know — they’re all so crooked!” These responses, and similar ones, can be a real challenge to us as we try to change our workplaces, our communities, and indeed our world, for the better.
In my local, we used to hand out a brochure to new members about our COPE program. It had the subtle title in big, bold letters, “Politics, It Means Your Life.” Yeah, just your life. But the handout actually did a nice job of listing some of the areas we take for granted that are heavily influenced or completely determined by some form of politics. Here are just a few:
· State revenue provided to your district, college, university or public agency, and limitations on revenue those entities can raise
· Your rights to collectively bargain and to have evaluation or job protections, including union representation and dismissal procedures
· Class sizes, textbooks used, and quality of education received
· Interest rates you pay
· City, county, state, federal and property taxes you pay
· Unemployment and Social Security benefits
· Our pensions, the amount of them and the age you can get them
· Cost of energy for your home and fuel for cars
· The quality of the air you breathe
· Whether you and your family have health care and its cost
· The nutritional value and safety of the food you eat
· The effectiveness and safety of the medicines you take
· Whether you have parks and libraries
· The police and fire protection you have
· The quality and safety of your streets
The list goes on, of course. In fact, we seldom pause to take stock of how deeply politics affects every inch of our and our loved ones’ lives, and our daily experience in the world.
When we do think about this reality, I think it’s easier to motivate ourselves and others to be more involved. And it doesn’t mean you have to become the world’s leading climate activist, or your union’s top political officer (although those would be great!). It means we owe it to ourselves and others to spend a little time becoming more educated about the issues and candidates.
And as we move ahead in this critical year, stay tuned.
In Illinois, we must pass the Fair Tax for our state to thrive — too much of what we want and depend on hangs in the balance. And there are important local and state elections. Oh, and it’s a presidential year — what many believe to be the most important presidential election in our lifetimes. Is there a better time to volunteer to work a phone bank one evening, or walk for a candidate or the Fair Tax in a neighborhood canvas on one crisp fall morning?
After all, “it means your life.”
