It Is Up to Your Elected Representatives to Protect Your Interests, Or Is It up to You? - Granite Grok

It Is Up to Your Elected Representatives to Protect Your Interests, Or Is It up to You?

Someone somewhere is fighting for you

From Commenter Concerned Windham Resident comes that question embedded in a rather long comment. In fact, it is, as he points out, the ONLY comment on an extremely short post (“A most sobering thought”) – an image (the meme: “Appreciate everything you have.

Someone, somewhere, is fighting for you to have it“) and one line from me:

“If you want to thank a soldier, be the kind of American worth fighting for.”

A two-year-old post come May. And no comment at all left on it since then. It happens – a lot – to bloggers, as we sometimes NEVER know what captures someone’s attention and fancy. That is, until two hours ago. In the email notifications I get from DISQUS, it was the first line of the comment was one of the lines that caught me up going “oof”:

I keep this on my bookmarks toolbar so that I look at it throughout the year.

I never thought someone would bookmark any of the posts that I have written for future review. Especially this one as I really wrote nothing – the line is a quote from Instapundit. Sure, it hit me hard – having had two sons in our military that were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, when I read that line, was I a DAD that was worth fighting for? Had I been a good role-model, someone who walked the talk, tried to inculcate the values that I had been taught and had seen were keys to success? Had I concentrated on the RIGHT things to pass on and to warn against the bad?

Was *I* the kind of American that they felt worth fighting for – and perhaps dying for as well? Yeah, it got personal even as I never told either the struggle this presented. But “CWR” had another line in there – let me just post it all here and bold the parts that caught my eye after he posted it just two hours ago:

I keep this on my bookmarks toolbar so that I look at it throughout the year. I clicked on it again and noticed there were still no comments after almost 2 years (maybe they don’t show up because it’s a bookmark link?)

It’s interesting how “be the type of person your dog thinks you are” is a very popular meme, but this, not so much apparently.

Perhaps it is because people think our soldiers fighting in foreign lands are not actually protecting US citizens, but other interests, and to varying extents they are correct.

This brings me to my next thought: How many people until recently thought it was up to our gov’t representatives (aka politicians) to protect our interests? How many people even now still think that? That would be an interesting survey – “Do you think it is up to your elected representatives to protect your interests, or is it up to YOU PERSONALLY to to spend your time, money, and risk the consequences to protect your interests?” Followed by -” Do you really believe that after accepting the donations of powerful, rich people that have strings attached, these flawed politicians (as all humans are) who can now vote themselves anything they want, will protect you or the good life they have bought for themselves with that powerful donor money?” Next question: “Why should a politician risk their time, money & take the consequences if you are not willing to personally do the same to keep them from being corrupt?”

Perhaps this is another reason why so many corrupt and lazy people go into gov’t jobs and become politicians – we are not doing the minimum of our job. If you believe the meme of “Why would you send $5,000. through the mail for someone else to count and then send to the bank to deposit for you, why would you send your ballot to be honestly counted and deposited in the ballot box”, why would you send your interests to Concord or Washington and never actively contact them and become an activist about what they are doing? How many people ever tell their reps directly what they are supposed to be doing? Yes I realize our side have jobs and families and fewer NGO’s set up, but we have probably 100 million people! If everyone did a little bit, that’s a lot, but everyone has to do what they can, not just the “other guy”.

Of course I am not talking about the people here at GraniteGrok, or for example the patriots who got the Windham audit to the point is is currently (Thank You all!). I am talking about those who complain, but wait for “someone else” to do something, or for Trump to run for office again in 2024. I admit, my health is no longer what it used to be & I’m in my 60’s, but what little I can do, I do. If EVERY person who complained did what they could depending on their abilities, health, and assets rather than waiting for someone else because they are afraid, we would not be in this position, and there would be only a minimal reason to fear.

My fear is that in addition to the known problems that must be fixed such as freedom of expression, immigration and voter fraud etc., unless more than 50% of citizens who love this country and the life they have here personally take the time to become involved even in some small way, and some who have the capabilities to do so take the risk to become activists, we will continue this very rapid slide to losing all we love.

How do we convince people to step outside their fear to save themselves before it is too late? That is really the big question IMHO, because if we ALL did that we WILL WIN.

CWR raises a number of important points and questions. I’ve said over and over that WE are our First Responders – don’t wait for others to do for you. It is OUR job, each and everyone of us. Don’t outsource your responsibility to elected officials just because you elected them – be their backstop and be their critics when they don’t do the right things. We here at GraniteGrok just don’t write about things, we get active in various issues as well. We try to stir people to action – sometimes well but most times not well at all.

Are you the kind of American worth fighting for? Are you fighting for the American values NOW so that when they come home, it will be the familiar instead of the bewildering? They put themselves on the line – are you? No, I can’t physically do what my sons did when they served. So I do what I can here at home so that my grandkids will have the same Freedoms I and my sons had growing up. Nothing special – but I do what I can when I can do it.

What’s your story? I thank all the vets that both write, comment, and read GraniteGrok for their service. I want to be able to say the same to all of you for doing what you can now and when you can do it.

What’s the risk in doing so?  And what is the risk in NOT taking that risk?

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