represent us (please)

Something in their messaging attracts me.

Something in their logic draws me in.

And something in their approach seems atypical of current culture.

With current culture seemingly spiraling divisively out of control, I am curious to learn more… 

Hear the initial words of actress Jennifer Lawrence…

“We are witnessing a total political system failure in America. 

If you’re anything like me, you may find yourself constantly overwhelmed by everything that’s wrong with politics. And when I say politics, I’m not talking about Democrats or Republicans. I’m talking about the flaws that exist in our political system regardless of which party is in power. And I know, it’s hard to talk about politics these days, but look: the government is ours; we pay for it, so it needs to work for us. And right now it doesn’t. And I mean it really doesn’t.

So what’s going on here? Is it Russian meddling and social media? Is it him? [Insert picture of Pres. Trump.] Is it her? [Insert picture of Hillary Clinton.] No. Those two were the least popular presidential candidates since they began keeping track of such things. 

Only 4% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in Congress now. Just 4%. America is no longer even considered a full democracy. We are witnessing total political system failure in America. Which is the complete opposite of what our nation’s fathers had in mind…”

Lawrence is a board member and spokesperson for “Represent Us” — a growing group of people, politicians, business persons, and celebrities who no longer believe government represents us.

That means that they don’t believe if they could simply eliminate one of the current parties, branches, or elected individuals, they would then be wisely represented. That means that they don’t believe there exists one party which is all good, all ethical, or that only the other party has lost its so-called way. They have resisted the societal lure to believe that the lesser of two evils, so-to-speak, can somehow translate into one which is good and one which is evil; evil is still evil. Bad is still bad, regardless of what it’s compared to. 

Note some of what Lawrence points out in their now-viral, introductory video…

“Consider this: politicians are spending up to 70% of their time raising funds for re-election after they get into office. Why? Because in order to win a seat in the Senate in some races, you would have to raise $45,000 every single day, 365 days a year for 6 years to raise enough money to win…

Meanwhile, you’ve got lobbyists writing our laws and donating to the politicians who pass them, we have a two-party duopoly of Democrats and Republicans that makes it so that independents can’t win, while the American people are leaving the major parties in droves…”

There’s a reason people are leaving — especially the younger generations. They can see that our system isn’t working; our government isn’t working for us. That’s with or without Donald Trump… and with or without one of the 316 Democrats who think they should replace him.

“Represent Us” recognizes that. Noting that Americans currently self-identify as 25% liberal, 34% moderate, and 36% conservative, we have to find a way for us to work. “This isn’t party identification,” says Lawrence. “This is how you feel, politically.”

We have to stop beating the other party down… acting as if they are stupid… refusing to talk to them. We have to stop refusing to have any likeminded friends… and resisting the veiled hubris that only they are in need of change. 

Liberals speaking to liberals, keeping their lists, and using liberal language is not going to effectively impact the other 61% and make government work again. Conservatives speaking to conservatives, tweeting incessantly, and using conservative language is not going to effectively impact the other 59% and make government represent us once more. We have to learn to speak and respect the language of the other.

“Represent Us” believes that fixing our current broken government is possible. They are bringing conservatives and progressives together to pass anti-corruption laws all across America. They are assembling right-left coalitions, calling out corruption, and building a movement that starts at the municipal and state level. They are listening to the left and the right, wanting to be sure that we are truly represented.

Did I mention that something in their messaging, logic, and approach attracts me?

That something seems atypical of current culture?

Respectfully…

AR