Article by:
Dr. Gerald D. Curry
Congress election of the Speaker of the House, in my opinion will go down as one of the saddest and most shameful events in American history. I have worked for the federal government for over four decades and I have never seen anything as ridiculous during those many years. I contribute the back-and-forth shenanigans to poor leadership and selfless shameful pride. Anytime a political party leader fails to rally their respective constituents to vote in a certain way to achieve an important objective for the people they serve it denotes poor leadership.
There are several lessons to be learned from this event by the American people. The first lesson is voters need to do a better job vetting their candidates before confirming their election. The second lesson is we the people are obligated to know more about how Congress works, and better understand the Constitution. The third and final lesson is we need to demand our politicians tell the truth all the time, and when they don’t, we need to hold them accountable, or get rid of them.
As we watched the insurrection that took place on January 6, 2021, and the 600+ arrest made by the FBI, we should be disappointed by any Congressional representative who is not willing to tell the truth about what happened and hold those involved completely responsible. Attempting to overthrow the government is not a small thing and those involved should be arrested, instead many of our fellow citizens refer to these people as patriots. I’m having a hard time understanding what’s patriotic about overthrowing the government you say you believe in and love. It just does not make sense!
As we move forward in this new year, we need to promise ourselves that we will not allow anyone to tarnish our government in any way. The beautiful thing about this country is everyone has a right to express their political views regardless of their stance. We do not have to agree with one another on every measure, but surely, we should respect one another and give a little intellectual grace to those views and matters we do not understand.
I challenge everyone to start preparing for the upcoming 2024 presidential election by first getting registered to vote, and then start studying the electoral process, and the issues presented by every candidate. Far too often in my opinion we have voted solidly with one particular party, and do not explore all options and alternative candidates. Get to know what the issues are, so you can make an intelligent decision.
It has been my experience that most Americans do not do the work by investing in understanding the issues. We blindly accept the media pundits that speak to their party’s political agenda. We truly need to stop the madness by becoming informed and making our voting decision based on principles and beliefs. There have been several accusations about voter fraud, and stealing votes, but there has never been any evidence of these activities.
Understanding and finding justice should be critically important to every American citizen. You owe it to yourself and family to know your rights, your politicians voting record, stance on issues, and their background. All of this is critical in exercising your vote and preserving justice. Some of you may be old enough to remember the harsh realities of the Civil Rights Era, where Jim Crow Laws prevented Blacks from voting across the South. Now since we have the right to vote, we need to leverage our unity and use it as a voting bloc in achieving our agenda. We need safer schools, more jobs in our communities, education for all, and the promise of upward mobility for future generations.
Only by working together can we achieve the political parity necessary to move forward. I am proud to be an American, even with all the hateful and illegal things our government has done to our people in the past. Our commitment and dedication are what has allowed us to survive and thrive. Every generation of Black people have gotten successively better. We need to recognize this fact and embrace our responsibility and obligations to pave the way for the next generation. We’re counting on you!