Forum Post: The Electorate Shoulders Some Responsibility

First, let me say that I am very optimistic about what this movement can mean. I think it is a breath of fresh air and long overdue. That said, I have some thoughts about the way that we approach the many problems we face:

There seems to be an immediate impulse to blame: politicians, lobbyists, and shoddy journalists for the unrepresentative government we have. Surely these groups are partially responsible for the broken-down system we find ourselves in. That said, we live in a democracy... if the government is unrepresentative, we need to ask ourselves if we have been demanding representation (demanding representation is what this movement seems to be headed towards, and why I think it is positive).

When I see that New York had the lowest voter turn out rate in the country in 2010, with 32.1% of eligible voters turning out. Do we blame the lobbyists for this? After all, they're the ones who buy elections. Well, no.... I think we need to take a hard look in the mirror here. The truth is, if the '99%' had been as engaged in their governance for the past 30+ years as they have been in the past few weeks, things would have never gotten this bad.

Journalism would have been held to higher standards by the consumer, and politicians who did not support the interests of the majority would have been removed from office. Elections may be bought, but if 99% of the people in this country actually voted, we could force change.

Anybody (meeting the age/residency requirements) can run for office, do not say that we do not get any good choices of candidates. We live in the media age: If the 99% supported an unknown candidate, corporate funding would not be necessary to get the word out.

Before we point fingers at anyone as being at 'fault' for doing this TO US, I think we all ned to reflect on how our inaction has led to us victimizing ourselves. Nothing was done to us, we allowed it to happen to us.

This movement has me tremendously optimistic. Maybe this is the turning point where my generation starts participating actively in our democracy- realizing that democracy works, but it takes constant action and effort from the electorate. As we go forward, let us remember that we are the ones who are responsible for the world in which we live. This is the right mindset, and I believe it will lead to the most productive long term changes in the way that our country flourishes.

Thank you for reading.