|
Recently there has been a lot of discussion within liberal circles on how important, more then ever, it is to "stay the course" and keep fighting the good fight. Many examples are cited on why voting for a lame, gop-lite Democrat is better then staying home or voting for a third party. The strongest argument is that if we can win in 2006, if we can win the house and the senate, we will have control of no less then 10 committees. By "we", I mean progressives. Those fighting the good fight. Liberals...progressives.
I have also heard the two political parties describes as "the GOP fights to maintain the status quo. the Dems fight to make the status quo fairer for all." This is not much of a rallying cry for those of us, who... well... want more. When we see a Zell Miller, or Joe Lieberman, we want to rage against the machine.
Tyeka is why we should stay the course.
Tyeka (pronounced Tie-E-ka)is a friend of mine that lives in North Las Vegas. If you have ever seen the tv show "Cops", and they were in vegas, that is north las vegas. I spoke to Tyeka on the telephone yesterday.
Tyeka is a working single mother of two boys. She has never had more then $100.00 cash at a time. She has never wasted a nickel. She has worked hard for everything and has never been given a break. Tyeka is the epitome of the working poor.
Yesterday, Tyeka told me she was being evicted. She found out 4 days ago. The landlord doesn't seem interested in working it out with her, but Tyeka has been trying.
Tyeka is no longer a democrat. Actually, she is no longer registered to vote. I registered Tyeka to vote in 1999. She had to work and be a mom on election day in 2000 and 2004. Since she has not voted in the last 4 years, she has been scrubbed from the Clark county voter rolls. She last voted in 1999.
Tyeka has a 9-5 Monday through Friday job, plus a Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday / Sunday 30 hours per week 'part time' job. She does this while parenting two young boys.
Tyeka is why we need to keep fighting our fight. We, the progressive wing of the Democratic party, need to fight for Tyeka and all those that are just like her. Tyeka needs to fight to stay alive. Tyeka needs to fight to keep her family together. We need to fight to help her keep fighting.
The Republicans are fighting for the status quo. This is the easy fight, my friends. They are fighting for their own self interest. They are fighting against everyone else's interest, for the benefit of their own. They are only concerned about their own kind and remaining affluent. Their selfish greediness has served them well.
We however, care. We are smart and we care. We are educated and we care. We are healthy and we care. We are strong and we care. We are hard working and we care. We are affluent, and we care. Although some of us are so wealthy that we are grouped with the wealthiest people on the planet, we still care. We care not only us and for ours, but for all. We care about Tyeka.
Halfway through our telephone conversation, Tyeka asked me to hold on. She had to "add minutes" from her pay as you go calling card. Two minutes later she returned. "It ain't easy."
So progressives, liberals, take heart. Keep fighting for those that are fighting another fight, a fight for survival. Keep fighting not because we can win, or because it will have an effect on the future, but because the FIGHT MUST BE FOUGHT. Fight because one day the meek shall inherit the earth. And when that day comes, I want Tyeka to be able to say, "They good folk. They're on our side." I won't be grouped with the status quo when that day arrives!
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
