Why Didn't They Do Something?

"It's been too hard livin', but I'm afraid to die 'cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky..." -Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come"

You all have grown with me and witnessed some of my most personal trials. For that I am thankful. It means a lot to know I have encouraged friends, sometimes even strangers to care about something. I ask that even though for the latter part of this year I've been really inconsistent on this platform that if you take nothing else from here, take a consideration for people and what they are going through.

If you're like me, politics are....confusing to say the least, and while it's easy for us to throw fault on entire political parties, debate with people on Twitter, and blast our grievances among friends, that's not doing anything. Don't get me wrong. I will never try to downplay the power of social media. For the most part, though, we have to really get involved with our politicians.

Let's be real. Not everyone has the time or availability to go to protests (as beneficial as they may be). Not everyone gets the message to boycott certain brands or "cancel" certain people. What we can do, however, we should do without hesitance. The treatment of immigrants is horrific and parallels all too well with the Holocaust. One thing that people seem to disassociate with when it comes to history is that history was at one time the present. This is our present:






Every twelve seconds a year we spent learning about slavery and the Holocaust in school (all shade), we all asked similar if not the same question: "Why was this allowed to happen? Why didn't they do something?" As we got older, that question seemed perhaps too absurd to ask aloud, but the fact of the matter remains the people who find themselves within the confines of laws (ex: being an immigrant at a time where immigrant laws are harsher seemingly out of nowhere) can't legally do anything about it without retribution. It's the job of those outside the confines to help. I have a featured entry with a few representatives from a handful of southern states where some of my readers are located. I will have it linked below. That post will be my featured post indefinitely so that it is easily accessible. I've done most of the work for you guys that are in the states I have listed, but even if I didn't, I still have the resources linked to find representatives in your respective state.

Here's something to keep in mind. Politicians are people. They are not supernatural, and if we're being pretty frank, most of them are on the same or only slightly above the intellectual wavelength of the average citizen. That means you should not be afraid to interact with them. You can't afford to be. These people can't afford for you to be. I've seen a slew of responses to families being separated and young children being snatched from their parents. Some of those responses were "When you go to prison, you can't be with your children. Don't break the law." One of these responses came from an old classmate of mine. I was disappointed to say the least. If we're going to argue that "laws need to be followed" word for word, then that means no more underage drinking? No more underage tobacco usage? No more marijuana usage in states where it's prohibited? No more driving without insurance? Why is it the law only needs to be followed when it's conveniently oppressive to people you don't care about? Write your representatives. Firmly ask what they intend to do to absolve these people or at least speed up the process of absolution. I opted out of including the political party of the reps (although with a quick Google search, you can find out for yourself) because the idea here isn't to insult or pin direct blame. This atrocity is a group effort, certainly, but in order to get things done, we need to be cooperative and reasonable in our approach.

If people being treated poorly is not enough reason for you to contact your representatives, well, here's another incentive: when they respond back to you, you could actually use that for certain scholarships. Apparently getting involved with politics is a big deal to some that are willing to shell out money for your education. That's just something to keep in mind.

Until next time. I hope you're writing or emailing.

Link to Your Reps