On Voting

Black people…is it important that we vote?
I wrote something a few years back about why I think that it was important for us to vote. Of course with the 2008 Presidential Election, we all rallied behind then candidate Barack Obama and voted like I always knew we could vote. It was a beautiful sight. I woke up early and my mother and I stood in a long line. Looking at the man Black folk in that line, I knew it was gonna be a historic day.
But now, I just sit back and reflect. Amazingly, a year has changed my mind somewhat. I have a short term view and a long term view on voting, which is made more complex due to the historical implications surrounding the idea of voting. In the short term, I recognize that voting is important and essential regarding how we are represented, particularly on the local level. Long term, I am not sure how much voting actually does because there are powers that are controlling policies and institutions that we are all unaware of. So I am a bit torn.
What makes this all worse is the historical implications; how Black people fought and died for the right to participate in voting. I think that is what really pisses me of; the fact that Black folk fought hard to vote yet there are back door deals and powers that control how our country is ran and how the world is governed. It is straight depressing. You know, one of the main reasons that I voted for Obama was because he was the best qualified Black man for the job. I mean, White men since our country’s inception had had numerous chances to mess up the country, let’s give the Black man a chance to do the same. But I look at the way things have been happening and the decisions being made and all that, and I really believe that there really wouldn’t be too much difference in McCain and Obama regarding certain issues. Rush Limbaugh is running around mad calling for Obama’s head because he believes that Obama will end capitalism as we know it, but Obama is a Capitalist’s Capitalist. He and McCain would have signed that stimulus bill, he and McCain would have continued to talk tough while sliding the banks billions, the “war” on terror would still be a failure with our troops getting injured or hurt – Obama in Afghanistan or McCain in Iraq; essentially, both would do things the same, with a few differences. Both would have associations with private groups, such as the Bilderberg group. I mean, it is tough to believe when you see things through opened eyes.
And if you believe in prophecy, it’s hard to discount it. I, of course, believe in Christian prophecy. Nevertheless, it is a scary notion on what is to come. With all of that being said, looking at these Election Day races, particularly in New Jersey for Governor, I ask myself, does it really make a difference? I feel like our two party system is a joke. A politician would argue with me. At the end of the day, I believe that the system is a good one. What are screwed up are the people within the system. But our people fought hard and even died to vote…for screwed up politicians? I don’t think that they died for that. I don’t think that they died for the “democratic process” to be a mask for a greater structure of democracy that we are unaware of and have no participation in. Voting does make a difference and can change outcomes. I agree with that. But we cannot be blinded by the idea that vote changes everything. One thing that made Black America great is because we took matters into our own hands. We are a resourceful people. We know how to work within limitations and do more with less. If rent is due and you cannot convince the landlord to give an extension, you had a rent party. If you were denied care from the government, the Church stepped in and gave you the care and resources that you needed. We, as a people, must get back to that…organizing in a way that allows us to be independent and interdependent.
I am not Islamic, but I second Brother Malcolm’s assertion that the Nation of Islam had the potential to be the most powerful organization for Blacks due to its resourcefulness and interdependence. But greed and jealously minimized its importance within African America and in society. Greed and jealousy is an issue within any organization…and it is an issue within our nation’s political and economic structure. So what do we do? We organize anyhow and we vote anyhow. There are forces that are beyond our control, yet what matters more is how we treat one another. Voting is important, but the power of voting is not stronger than the power of a people who do for themselves. All voting can do is allow them either the opportunity to do more or re-evaluate to learn how to do more with less. We concentrate too much on having the option to do rather than focusing on the actual doing. Let’s reason to DO more. Don’t just vote today, take an active role in your community. Mentor a kid. Read to some children. Organize to provide kids a place to play ball. That work does more than casting a ballot ever could.
Voting sets the parameters of your work… but it is your hands actually do the work.