Sorry To Join The Tumblr Americans That Are Posting About Elections, But I'm Tired Of Seeing People Acting

Sorry to join the tumblr americans that are posting about elections, but I'm tired of seeing people acting like it's the end of the world or some shit because orange man is elected.

Here's a secret: Voting doesn't mean shit. Should you vote? Absolutely, but American culture ensures that the average American is severely un-educated about politics. Most Americans are completely loyal to a specific party. They're politically raised to be sheep.

Your vote matters, yes, but it also matters so little to the cultural zeitgeist. Unless something is done about the average American's political awareness, votes will always be dominated by sheep.

Presidential elections never had to be a "pick between two poisons," our culture simply convinced us that there are no other options and trying to change anything is useless. Sheep.

Now all I see are Americans wallowing in their despair. Waaahh there's nothing that can be done woe is me. Y'all really invested all of your hope in a vote that has such miniscule power because you're falling for the sheep mentality politicians want you to have.

Do you know what the common American citizen can do that's more powerful than voting? You can be an active participant in city council/town hall meetings. You can find out when they happen on your town's website. They are recorded so you can listen to one even if you missed it. Can't show up in person? These meetings are streamed. You can participate in the safety of your own home.

Send mail to the mayor. Speak about the problems you face that are local to where you live. If you have the priviledge being able to speak to townsfolk, bring it up in conversation if they seem comfortable. "Did you see the city council meeting?". Even if you never say anything or send mail to city council meetings, simply being aware is better than the average American.

Being aware puts pressure on your city. Being a person that speaks out about problems locally. This is where the common citizen holds the most power. I'm 100% certain my town would never have attempted to make bike lane and sidewalk plans if the townspeople didn't semi-regularly show up and complain about it every single meeting. We have a huge housing crisis and a bunch of homeless people that 10 people at town meetings constantly speak up for. What if there were more?

And another thing, do you call or mail your Senators and Representatives about any issues? Were you one of the many Americans completely silent about things like the Affordable Connectivity Program dying out? While similar to the miniscule power of voting, this does put at least a little bit of social pressure on those in political standing. Yes, many calls and mail are discarded, but they have to receive them. It gets recorded for data.

Again, the average American participates extremely little and it's not even just because they don't want to. It's because they don't even know they can. The Tumblr populace does not represent the average American in the slightest, in fact, I see people encourage calling Senators and Reps on here fairly often, but maybe do the same about city/town meetings. Push against the cultural zeitgeist of sheep mentality or nothing will change. Stop wallowing in your despair and maybe use that strong emotion towards something that matters even more; doing something about it.