An old friend told me last night he was deeply depressed about the country. “Our economy isn’t working, our democracy is in the hands of a few billionaires and big corporations, Hillary is offering band aides, Bernie can’t win, the Republicans are to the right of Attila, and Trump is a demagogue and a fool,” he said.
I asked him what he was doing about it.
“Me? Nothing. I can’t do a thing.”
“That’s the problem,” I said. “Your cynicism is a self-fulfilling prophesy.”
“I don’t have lots of money,” he said, “and I don’t have any time. I’m working like a dog.”
“You can make a small contribution, and you can stop watching two hours of TV every night.” I told him. “Use that time to get your friends involved, and insist they pull their friends in.”
“And do what?”
“Organize. Mobilize. Energize. Make sure you and everyone else knows the truth and doesn’t buy the right-wing lies. Have them all make small contributions. Meet in your home. Attend rallies. Write your local papers. Set up a system so everyone knows who to support. Make sure they vote in the primaries or attend the caucuses, and then vote in the general.”
“Can I really make a difference?” he asked.
“Yes. You and the rest of us. We can take back our economy and our democracy. The upcoming elections are the most important in our lifetimes. The moneyed interests would like nothing better than for every one of us to throw in the towel. Then America is entirely theirs. You must not let them.”
He was silent for a moment. “Maybe I will,” he said.
