After 10 days in my maternal homeland of the Dominican Republic and on an airplane to the United States, I found myself drowned in thoughts of sadness and desires to be with my family. Especially knowing that when I arrive in the United States I will be confronted with schoolwork and little time to dream of this paradise. However when I spoke to many of my extended family members in a town called Villa Tapia, during my stay, many of them spoke to me of how I should feel happy to return to a land of opportunities, where I am able to accomplish any goal that I desire. I rebuked their response with tears. My closing remarks to my rebuttal was “El costo de la vida sube otra vez.” This Spanish phrase means the cost of living rises again.
Nothing in life is free. More important, nothing in life is guaranteed. With no guarantees and always paying for a way of life, it would be best to wonder: what way of life are you paying for? In New York, our Governor is one of the most despised governors in New York State history making drastic budget cuts, aiding close friends, and reaping the benefits of his position as governor. Moreover, Gay New Yorkers await for marriage rights that should be given since the opposing argument in such debates are grounded in religious beliefs; these beliefs should not constitute as a legal reason to not award the most famous gay community equal rights. Black Americans are threatened with losing their historic cultural center of Harlem, with and without Columbia’s expansion. From what I understand, I don’t pay taxes and my mother’s taxes does not go towards gentrification, unequal marriage rights, and politicians to belittle their esteemed position with a sense of entitlement. I hope when I get older I do not pay for these things. Don’t you wish to avoid paying for such things?
I ask you, my dear reader, not to take up a pen and sign a petition or go out and strike for the sake of raising your voice to express your anger over an issue. Instead, I ask of you to inform your neighbor of your life and lifestyles, to open your door and lend a dollar or two to a man or woman lacking food, and to spend your time with the elderly, hoping that in the future a similar favor might be returned. I feel that the major issue in American politics is not the laws that govern this land, but the morals of the politicians that carry out these laws. If America is to be a great nation then it must take a step forward by having its citizens treat each other as friends.
Sam– what a beautiful articulation of citizenship. For all the time we’ve spend talking about politics and voting, we’ve talked little about the kinds of policies we support tacitly by buying into the system, or the limits of voting as an expression of civic engagement. Kindness and friendship are not words one hears often in a discussion of political participation, but you’re right: they should be.
I wonder, though, if these are our priorities– how should we reconceive of our own approach to our project this semester? Instead of pushing for a local politics curriculum in schools, should we be pushing for more moral/philosophical course on good civic behaviors? The virtues of friendship and generosity? In many ways, these latter qualities are harder to teach, but you know more than anyone that many age-old texts can guide us through them.
And maybe we all need to take a short trip to the DR. It sounds like an enlightening place.
Hey Sam, I am deeply touched by you post. You are right, sometime we forget that the quality of our politic is indeed controlled by the quality of our politicians. No matter how perfect we can design the system and the government, we can’t design the quality and moral of those politicians. Once I was talking to Shaun, our future politician, he told me that his definition of politic is service. He believed that politicians suppose to serve the people they are representing. What a ideal world it will be if all politicians (the future ones too) believe in this definition……