Editors Notes
by
Gino Messina
Are you willing to move a grain of sand?
Social Change for Working Families
Most working Americans have not fared well through eight years of conservative corporate economic policies. Gasoline prices have more than tripled in that time and the effect can be felt in all sectors of the economy: groceries, natural gas, electricity, prescription medication, college tuitions, home maintenance products, and just about everything. These cost increases are eating away at middle-class incomes and jeopardizing middle-class futures in a way not seen for 70 years. Manufacturing jobs have been leaving our country at a record pace, and millions of Americans have lost their single largest investment, their homes! The class war is being lost at a record pace.
So when I hear our current leaders talk about a “robust economy,” or say that “the economy is doing great,” “it will improve,” and “we should stay the course”. I know something about them. They have nothing in common with me and most of the people I call friends and family. They have absolutely nothing in common with people who get up every day and work for a living. They have nothing in common with the vast majority of Americans. They are speaking of their friends, the ones who are at their country clubs while a union postal carrier is delivering their dividend checks.
In this country, being involved in the political process is an American tradition. If there was ever a year with a more important election, it was not in my lifetime. If we are going to stop the selling off of America, it must be done now. If we are going to stop the destruction of the middle class, it must be done now. If we are going to stop the outsourcing of our manufacturing to China, India, and South America, it must be done now. If we are going to stop American citizens from dying and going bankrupt because of the lack of Health care, it must be done now. If we are going to stop the ever widening gap between the rich, and everyone else, it must be done now! If we are going to secure a better future for our children, if any future! It must be done NOW!!!
Unions & their members have always been involved in encouraging congress to do what’s right for the common citizen. One of Walter Reuthers’ slogans was “The bread box is connected to the ballet box”, and that holds true more today than ever before. We need to have politicians who are accountable to “We the People” and not to the corporate interests who pour enormous amounts of money into their campaigns to ensure that their bottom lines are inflated at the expense of our citizenry. You can make a difference! Bobby Kennedy was once quoted saying, “If you move one grain of sand on a beach, you have changed the world.” Being involved at any level makes a difference no matter how small the contribution. There are millions of “We the People”. We are the majority of America. We need to stop watching the game from the stands, and get into the game.
All the progressive social movements in U.S. history involved large numbers of common people getting involved, and effecting the way people think about their country and the collective good of America. That’s how change occurs, not from the top down but from the bottom up. The labor movement and the civil rights movement are just two recent examples. Millions of people united and became involved, to affect change in this country. They were just like you, busy with their family, jobs, bills, and church. But they were pushed too far; they could no longer pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and they had enough. As they saw their future dreams being erased by greed and prejudice, they fought back, not only for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren, for the American Dream, for a better future for our families. They affected change, which enabled them to work hard and to give their children the opportunity for a more prosperous life than theirs. It led to social change that was good for “We the People”. We are at that time in history again. But the direction of this country will not change unless we stand up and let our voice be heard. That must happen again.
So I ask you brothers and sisters, are you willing to move that grain of sand?