Although African Americans fought for hundreds of years to acquire some of the most basic rights, African Americans (in particular) have stopped short of realizing the true purpose of having a vote.  The average American believes that thier voice is heard when they cast their ballot.  The fact is most people make voting decisions based on commercials and name recognition (let us just be honest about it).  Ultimate, votes don’t make legislation!  Not to mention, politicians make decisions that affect us all on a daily basis.  We only get to make our own decisions once every 2 -4 years.  That is not political power.

If we want to make an impact on our society, we have to begin participating in the political parties.  No longer an African Americans call themselves Democrats simply because that is the way we mainly vote.  We need to actively get involved in party politics and participate in the development and promotion of policy.  Where do you think the “No Child Left Behind” campaign came from?  Bush didn’t think of it all by himself (that is not to say that it was good policy).  Most legislative platforms are developed by party members and are pushed up the party chain and eventually into the hands of the legislators.  This is the true source of political power.

Now, ask yourself, when was the last time you went to a local political party meeting?  Frankly, I can care less if anyone votes.  What I want to see is more African Americans making decisions on who represents the parties versus us voting on the “lessor of two evils”.  When we begin participating more at the decision-making levels, we will have more power and get more done at the end of the day.

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