There is something curious that happens right after every election cycle that is counter intuitive to the democratic process—people quit caring. All of these topics we get so wound up about seem to lose their importance and movements die. A few weeks back I wrote an article thanking Bernie Sanders for everything he has done and the revolution he has started, and I meant everything that I said. However, I received a comment on Facebook that I found rather troubling about how the revolution was over—it is not, it has only just begun.
Donald Trump, who is, unfortunately, one of the most recognizable figures on the planet, gave us a shining example of how we give up on caring once the moment has passed. For months we had to listen to him whine and moan about how the election was rigged and about how the GOP was doing everything they could to lock him out (Don’t judge me for this, but I have to agree with him on that, I too think it is rigged. The establishment knows who they want and as a candidate [Hillary Clinton].) Here's the kicker, and it is typical Trump B.S. once he had won the candidacy (the rest of the competition dropped out), he stated at a rally that he didn’t care that it was rigged anymore, because he won and to “let someone else worry about it” No you tool, we need to fix this—we cannot have a rigged election system, but that is beside the point.
We cannot stop caring about how our country is run, we cannot stop caring about who is in office, we cannot stop caring about progress; we just can't. Take the NRA as an example—their message never changes, whether you agree with their message or not, they focus on their agenda on and off election years. Look at the mess they have made; they did it by sticking to their guns… literally. Think about all of the messes that we could clean up if we remained focused; transfixed on progress, rather than speaking up when everyone else is trying to talk. Our voices aren’t heard quite as clear when everyone else is shouting at the same time.
I guess what I am trying to say is keep fighting. I promise you, once the election is over and we are all complaining about how it turned out, the ones who were elected into power will be working tirelessly to stay in power without uttering a single word about it. Unless of course, it is Donald Trump, then we will have a four-year victory lap filled with bigotry and double talk about how he won, and how crooked Hillary is.
