Citizen Voice

In my early twenties I spent several winters on Hawaii’s North Shore. Many days I’d wake up to see 20-foot waves rise up battering the reefs with thousands of tons of energy. These waves are so powerful that every year unsuspecting tourists wading in the shallows in ankle deep water are knocked over, sucked into the sea and drowned. They think they are safe where they stand, but they’re not.

There are others who see the situation differently. Instead of standing on the shore, they paddle out. Positioning themselves correctly, they ride the face of a monster wave, close to 40 mph. They are having the thrill of their life just by being in the right place at that right time. When they are riding the wave, they are not exerting the energy; they are simply flowing with it.

That’s where we are today. We can stand on the beach and hope we don’t get knocked down, or we can paddle out and ride the waves of change.

In my recent blog, America’s Big Idea, I introduced the New American Agenda. Today I’m very pleased to announce the launch of a new page dedicated to this project that focuses on our civic social responsibility, engagement and participation. It is a platform dedicated to giving voice to each of us. Every single one. It’s a place where we can galvanize our ideas and demand better from our government. Out voices do matter, and together we can make a difference. We’re tired of business as usual that produces substandard education, catastrophic foreclosures, unequal access to healthcare, etc. We’ve waited long enough. It’s time for all of us to not only fight for ourselves, but to fight for our collective voices. It’s our duty to our common good. Our duty to each other. If we don’t speak out to form our own agenda, then we’re likely to get a recycled version of the same old thing. Broken promises. Poor leadership.

The first imperative on America’s New Agenda is Citizen Voice. Our constitution guarantees citizens the right to petition the government. And when the will of the public is galvanized our legislations listen. Our most effective presidents have been able to amplify our voices to overwhelm the petty voices of special interest or powerful fringe groups so that we could unite for the common good. When our voices are heard, citizens feel their engagement matters. When our voices are ignored, we feel frustrated and powerless. The most important element of citizen voice in a free democracy is open and equal access to our elected leaders. We should not have to make a political contribution or stand in line behind lobbyists who have. Lobbyists should not be able to get the prolonged attention of legislators in “educational” junkets or golf tournaments or private plane rides. Our leaders should not participate in secret meetings or allow lobbyists to draft legislation. We need an ethical system that creates a level playing field for every citizen. We need to speak out with emails, letters and group gatherings to make our voices heard. We need to make our agenda the national agenda.

Come to our site, America’s New Agenda. Let your voice be heard. We’ll never get more from our leaders than we demand. Don’t get depressed at the direction of the storm. Big waves are catastrophic only if you don’t see them coming. If you see them clearly, you can ride them. Surf’s up!

Will Marre
The American Dream Project

To visit American Dream Project’s homepage, click here.

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