You Too Can Be a Pearl

We’ve heard it all before. What good will my vote do? Why bother emailing or calling my congressman? Who cares about one man’s voice? What good will all these Tea Parties and protest groups accomplish against the money and resources of the government and those currently in control of which direction the country is headed?

Sounds like surrender to me. Take a step back from the big picture and focus in on the details. Tip O’Neill was right when he said “All politics is local.” Each and every member of the House and Senate, every governor, mayor and local official has one primary objective which influences every vote he takes, his ultimate reelection. To that end, they will listen to every opinion and complaint from their constituents, weigh the pros and cons and evaluate how to vote to maintain their office.

Those who favor entitlements, government largesse and intervention into life’s minutia, indiscriminate spending and the class envy proposition of punishing those who succeed on their own, have made their voices heard and have allowed our representatives to safely follow the new administration as it reverses American tradition and tramples free market capitalism.

The voice of the opposition, those who cherish the opportunities available in this country, those who want to keep more of their hard earned income, those who believe in individual reward and failure, unimpeded by government intervention, has only recently begun to be raised. It is being heard but is being evaluated as to its strength and its staying power. Is it just an aberration, a momentary fad, or is it the beginning of an uprising which will oust those politicians who choose to ignore it? If our voices are to make a difference they must be persistent, ever-growing and relentless. We have only to look to nature to see the picture of all that can be accomplished if we remain vigilant and outspoken.

A foreign object invades the host oyster and settles in, refusing to let go. Try as it might, the oyster cannot dislodge the particle, so in order to protect itself against the invader the oyster continuously coats the intruder with a substance called nacre.
Over the course of time the oyster will be discovered, its defenses broken down, and pried open to reveal the invader which has manifested itself as a pearl.
The voice of each individual can become, as all the grassroots movements across the country are likely to become, an intruder beneath the veil of our elected officials. If our efforts continue, despite the constant attempts to marginalize them and cover them up, the usurpers of our government will be revealed for what they are, and we will be left with the pearl formed by the spirit of Americans like yourself who will not go silently into the night.

Nico