Real quickly, let me explain why protests
don't work anymore.
Every
politician with a gram of sense has studied the logistical genius that was the
Obama campaign machine. They all know that you can win a national election even
when most of the people, most of the vocal public apparently hate your guts.
President
Obama taught politicians how to look past the impressive numbers of the huddled
masses and see down to the microscopic levels of who was actually voting and in
which districts.
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Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
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2 words:
Barack Obama.
Politicians
know that they don't really have to please or pay attention to their
constituents. They only have to please and pay attention to the registered and
likely to vote constituents who make up the base and swing votes in the key
zipcodes they need to carry next election cycle. The rest of you chanting sign
wavers can kick rocks.
So, when a
few thousand people show up on the capitol steps and the elected knuckleheads
inside look out and see a bunch of out of county and out of state tags, when
their own undercover street teams survey the crowd and find that 3 in 4 of the
in-state adults aren't even registered to vote----- they just laugh and vote
like you weren't even there.
Yes, you're
an American. Yes, you have a right to have your voice heard. But, the days of
voices changing policy are pretty much over. One of the many lessons of the
Trayvon Martin trial is: Voices change media coverage. Voices do not change
law. Votes change laws.
Wanna make a
real difference. Instead of standing among 5,000 generic protesters who are
only gonna boost tax revenue over the weekend when they check-in and eat out;
stand among 500 Alabama residents who are all registered to vote in the same
congressional district. In this state, that's enough to change the outcome of
an election.
They'll
listen then. The age of protests is over. The age of Voting Precincts has
begun.
---Anderson
T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth
Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more
about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .
If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116
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