By Roy Douglas Malonson
“The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
I concur with the words of the former president, as I have often stated, “We have two of the most powerful tools a person can have, ‘our money’ and ‘our vote’ – and we should be careful who we give them to.”
There was a reason why our ancestors vicariously fought for our right to vote. Although back then, they were not allowed to have a voice in deciding who should represent them; it never stopped them from fighting for the right to vote for the generations that were to come.
As I stated on last week, I am continuing on in an “Accountability” series, as it relates to the African-American community. Because I am tired of the “pass the buck” mentality; we have allowed candidates for public office to come into our communities and solicit our support to get them elected. Yet, once they are elected, they totally forget about the promises they made to our communities. So, We Must Understand it is time to hold those we elect accountable of the tasks they were elected to do.
Sad to say, a great many of our elected officials only have one major concern, votes. However, this benefits you as an individual because, the key to securing votes is people and money. Therefore, members of the community should, analyze elected officials. Analyzing elected officials means to, learn as much as possible about your elected official’s agenda. After all YOU elect them to represent YOU, so you have the right to hold them accountable.
Furthermore, once we encounter an elected official who refuses to do their job, we have a duty to get rid of them. They must start to understand putting the country and the people first should be their priority. If your congressperson votes against things that are important to you and your area, you’ve got to vote against them. This is one of the best ways to get their attention. You have got to let them know that their career is not YOUR priority- YOUR JOB, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR COMMUNITY and YOUR FUTURE ARE!
Finally, I urge elected officials to hold yourselves accountable. If each elected official would start holding his or herself accountable, it would take away the stress of us having to do your own damn job.
