When I was at a Big Tent panel this morning, entitled, "Left Behind: What Katrina and a Stolen Election Taught Us About Race and American Politics,” a panelist commented on the nature of the media treatment given to disaster victims.
“[These victims] aren't sexy. College students [organizing on behalf of the victims] are sexy.”
He was talking about the need for grassroots organizing. Unfortunately, the mainstream press is a business and sex sells. This often means that the people who are in the most need of having their stories heard are often ignored or buried in the media.
We like to think that the one tool that anyone can have at their disposal to have their voice heard is their vote. Unfortunately, there are barriers to this as well. New voter ID laws, as have been seen in Georgia and Indiana are unnecessary, complicated, and worst of all, they leave the implementation of the laws up to the interpretation of the poll workers.
Voter intimidation at the polls may come from an accidental misinterpretation of the voter ID law, or it can be deliberately intended to suppress votes. I went to a small liberal arts college in Colorado Springs (birthplace of Focus on the Family, for those who aren't familiar with “Csprizzles,” as we called it). On election day 2004, a giant group of students marched over to the polls at 3 p.m. I was among them- and was consequently there until 8 p.m., as the poll workers deliberately slowed down the lines, hoping that our liberal votes would be shut out.
Luckily, the presence of grassroots voters' rights organizations had voter advocates on-site who were there to inform both the poll workers and us students of our rights as voters. Progressive Future recognizes the importance of voter education, and will be teaming up with MoveOn to register hundreds of thousands of minority voters in swing states, informing them of their rights as voters and making sure they turn out to the polls on election day.
One audience member asked the panel why, in an age of such technological progress, we have yet to develop the ability to automatically register any person born in this country. A panelist answered that too often, simple solutions exist to current social problems, but simply aren't implemented. Progressive Future is offering a simple solution: talk to you neighbors, your friends, your family. Tell them to vote. Talk to them about the issues that matter to them, and discuss what the differences are in the treatment of these issues between the two candidates.
It's up to each of us to make sure that no voices go unheard. It sounds daunting, but Progressive Future is here to give us the resources to make a difference this fall. To be a part of this sweeping movement, click here.
