As we all know, we are well into the next election cycle. I am not sure where you stand, and quite frankly, it doesn’t matter. Everyone has their opinions and positons.
I always have and will cast my vote this November. You need to as well.
I will not get into one side or the other in this column. This is about the process itself, and my personal opinion of how government is broken and what you can do about it.
When I was younger, during election season, I always researched the issues and the positons of candidates. Then I voted as I saw fit. It is my opinion that everyone should approach every election this way. I encourage you to do this at the very minimum.
As I grew older, I donated money to candidates who I felt were worthy of our support. They held the same values as I did, or I thought they could lead in the right way. It is the way the system works. I believe it is a good way to become involved in the political process.
As I have experienced the last 23 years of elections, and participated in them (at the local, state and federal levels), I have learned a lot. Like everything in life, you only learn by training and experience. Since presidential elections only happen once every four years, you need to do 1460 times more homework on them (365 days in a year x 4 years).
However, I have learned, by experience, that what I did in my earlier years was wrong. It was correct in the fact that I did those thing. But I contributed so little.
Our Founding Fathers got a lot of things right. We have the longest running modern democracy -- 240 years.
They also got some things wrong, and we all have opinions on that. However, it is our government’s on-going job to fix those things that were wrong; to address issues that were not in existence when the country was founded; and most importantly, represent the people. We are a government “by the people, for the people.”
Let’s fast forward to today. And I’ll share my thoughts on doing nothing, doing the minimum, and the wrongs in American politics.
1. The power is in the people. As a democracy (ok a Republic…which asserts that nothing can outvote your inalienable rights) we have the choice to elect who we want to represent us. Perhaps this was easier when everyone knew everyone in their area because of a smaller population. Today, that is not the case. So has it become a sales marketing campaign? I believe it has. It is your job to research the candidates and form your own opinion on the facts you have been able to uncover.
2. Influence of the media. It is abundantly clear the media has more power in politics than ever before. Perhaps, again, as we have grown as a country and the size of the nation gets larger, it tougher and tougher to know “people,” so the media highlights positives of those they like, and digs deep for misgivings of those they don’t like. And then go on for months digging deeper to bury an individual. It used to be that media needed to be responsible for what they print. Today, I am not sure that holds true. Liberal and conservative are equally guilty of smear campaigns and spreading lies. It is our responsibility to sift through the lies and determine whom to vote for. In my opinion, the media is one of the main reasons our best potential candidates do not run for office. (I don’t care who you are, but I don’t think anyone can honestly say of the five that are left running for President, that anyone of them is the “BEST” U. S. citizen to run the country.) Why should the best people run? They have great jobs (on Wall Street, as a CEO, or perhaps are leading our Armed Forces) without the scrutiny of a bunch of journalists with an agenda. I am guilty here as well. I have thought of running. Perhaps I should.
3. Influence of social media. This is where things get really ridiculous. In my opinion, if you have never participated in the political process, then you should not have the right to share, like or post anything. Or, at a minimum, you should have to post “here is my opinion, but I have never voted, never supported a candidate, never volunteered on a campaign, never met with my representatives.” Once you post that, then you tell everyone in the world what you want to say, because your disclaimer says, “Here is my opinion, but my lack of participation in the process makes it a very uneducated opinion.” I get freedom of speech, and I believe in it. If you are going to speak though, be honest. Tell everyone that I have an opinion, I just don’t know anything about the subject. Here is another reason many folks do not, and will not run for office.
4. If you are in the snow industry, you have people who will communicate with your representatives for you. The ASCCA has been representing you with your government. Find out what the issues are that we are working on (highlighted below). If your issue is not on our agenda -- call us. Your issue may not jump to the No. 1 issue we are working on… but it will never get attention if you don’t call. Finally, support us. First, by becoming a member, then by showing up to a Legislative Day event and participate in getting the laws changed.
If you have not done one of these things, then you shouldn’t try and influence an election. Why? Because you don’t care enough to comment. There are few extenuating circumstances that absolve you (and I would give credence to those).
Here’s the deal. Every senator, every congressman, every mayor and local rep has a public email, phone number and office in your district and in their local, state and federal offices. You want to be heard? Set a meeting. Tell them what you have issues with. (Don’t forget to tell them what they have done well.) Our government was set up to have the people’s voices heard.
I have heard folks, when talking about an issue, say “…that is just how government works.” No it doesn’t! Do something about it. It’s our government.
Now as it relates to the professional snow and ice management industry, a small group of folks have been fighting for you at the state and federal levels:
Federal. Tor three years, 15-30 of your fellow snow contractors and I have been in Washington D.C. to Support the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act. That’s 30 of 35,000 companies. This is an embarrassing statistic. Yet, we helped get this bill passed in the House last August. It now sits in the Senate as Senate Bill 401. We will be heading back in July to voice our support in the Senate. Let’s see if we can get more than .001% of the industry to have their voices heard.
State: These proposed bill would limit liability transfer from the property owner to the contractor.
- Illinois: Twenty of your Illinois colleagues and I have worked hard to get Illinois Senate Bill 2138 passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is expected to be voted on in the Senate in the next few weeks.
- Michigan: 29 of your Michigan peers and I have worked hard to get Michigan House Bill 5230 moving. A hearing was held last week and it is expected to pass the Judiciary Committee next Tuesday.
- Pennsylvania: a group of your peers and I have been working and were successful in getting PA House Bill 1672 introduced and assigned to committee. We are now working to get it passed.
- New Jersey: a group of your peers and I have been working and were successful in getting NJ Senate Bill 3121 introduced and assigned to committee. We are now working to get it passed.
We are also close to getting bills introduced in Alaska, Indiana, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Ohio, and a number of other states. We did this by having our voices heard.
In the end, I am qualified to write, like and share items on this topic, because I vote, I donate, I meet with and write to our representatives, and I participate in the process.
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