It's Up to Us

We, the People. Three words that once held great significance and represented everything unique about our country. Never have these three simple words been more important than they are now, as the foundational values our nation was built upon seem to be eroding every day, every hour. Regardless of your political views, this is a defining moment in our country’s 250-year history. Nobody is coming to save us. It is up to us — We the People.

I appreciate living in a representative democracy, and I bet most people do too. We cannot let that slip away — we simply cannot. It’s hard for me to believe that everyday citizens, striving to achieve the American dream (whatever that may mean to you)—paying for groceries, supporting their families, having a nice home, enjoying clean air and water, visiting national parks, and keeping our neighborhoods safe—would choose to forfeit this way of life so that billionaires can become richer and dictate how the majority of us are allowed to live. That cannot possibly reflect who we are or what we want for the future.

Big money and corruption in our political system have significantly harmed how elected officials respond to the needs of everyday Americans. It is no coincidence that the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling granted corporations First Amendment standing and declared limiting political expenditures an unconstitutional violation of their free speech rights. Since then, the emergence of Super PACs (Political Action Committees) has enabled them to raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations, and unions to spend on elections. It’s no wonder that the significant transfer of wealth to a small group of people has also resulted in the transfer of power, favors, corruption, and market manipulation. Citizens United was a 5-4 Supreme Court decision, meaning that five justices effectively opened the floodgates that led to the current political climate and the deregulation of essential safeguards upon which we all rely for safe food, clean air, sound banking practices, and much more.

Just yesterday, the Supreme Court issued another ruling with broad implications. Allowing the executive branch to dismiss individuals working in independent federal agencies at will directly jeopardizes those agencies. It gives them the option to align with the president's agenda or face firing and replacement with political loyalists.

So, how can We the People reclaim our representative democracy? Vote. Vote in such large numbers that cannot be contested, effectively negating the impact of gerrymandered districts. Make it clear to elected officials that We the People demand fair representation of all Americans’ needs, and we will not be ignored. We should also insist on expanding the Supreme Court to reverse some of the rulings made by the current corrupt bench.

In 2024, there were 245 million eligible voters—almost 90 million did not exercise their most important role as citizens. I hope everyone understands that elections have consequences, and it matters who holds office. So please, register to vote, ensure you have the proper identification (ladies, if you changed your name when married, be sure to obtain a passport in case the SAVE Act is passed just before the midterm elections, as it takes several weeks to receive a passport), and get a copy of your birth certificate. Then, show up in November to cast your votes for candidates who represent your values and uphold the law and the Constitution, regardless of whether they are Republican, Democrat, or Independent.

Send a message: We the People will only support candidates who represent our needs. Full stop. We owe it to the Founding Fathers and everyone who has fought for our freedom and given the last full measure of devotion so we, and future generations, can determine our own future.