A Special Tribute for the Often Underrepresented

In April of this year I started speaking to various members of the political community to get their read on local, state and national issues. It was not difficult to realize issues impacting our middle class households are likely felt more severely by those who are often less advantaged and frequently ignored. As Katrina showed, these people are those who are often left behind. It’s one thing when it’s an act of nature. It’s something entirely else when it is an act of people. This cuts deep and is close to home.

These meetings were (and continue to be) for the purpose of outreach and an exchange of views and ideas with many social activists. They represent those who want an end to the War in Iraq, protection of undocumented immigrants, protection of our environment, equal rights and opportunities for women, gay, lesbian and transgender persons, the working poor, single parent households. These are things the Democrats used to do pretty well.

Arguably, many activists have aligned with the Green Party because they believe the Democratic Party lost its soul in an effort to be more centrist. When Republicans had more successes, many Democrats felt that it was their ideology that was wrong. I think the Democratic ideology was correct, but its communication and execution were flawed. The tailspin of lost momentum likely occurred when Democrats solicited support from the wealthy, large corporations and many special interest groups to fund their campaigns –the historic province of the Republicans. Somewhere along the way, the wants, needs and hopes of those we had a social contract with faded over time.

I learned our youth (18 – 30 and often younger) really do care about what is happening to their future. They like many of us over 30 know that finding the promise of a good future and reality could be compared to a vapor and a solid. Are they wrong? I don’t think so. I found the Latino community is a diverse, rich and passionate culture made up of members from the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Guatemala and many more places. They are sadly lumped into a group, as are people of Portuguese, African American and Asian heritages. They are proud to be Americans but on occasion there are barriers produced by cultural and language differences.

Many of these result in the impression of resistance to our country’s values. On the contrary, these are proud people who embrace both their cultures as well as the American Dream. They want a voice and many have lost faith in their own wish for prosperity through equal access to their elected officials. Instead, they keep strong by sharing with each other in community events from organized family parties to church activities to cultural gatherings. I am proud to be able to share their visions because I believe representing the ignored is the basis for building a stronger foundation for everyone else.