Time is Ticking: Time to Either Put Up or...That Other Thing

Sixty-one days.

In sixty-one days, the filing period will begin for races including the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, the state Senate, the state House, county commissioners, and other public offices in this great state of North Carolina.

On Feb. 8, county Board of Elections, from Murphy to Manteo, will open up their doors for business...and who will dare to walk in? From the 8th to the 26th of February, there is a window to help shape the communities we all live in. All the blog posts, 30-second ads, and fundraisers in the world will not change the fact that, during those days, filling out a piece of paper and paying a fee is all that one individual has to do to change our democracy.

The Constitution of the State of North Carolina states, in art I, sec. 9, that "[f]or the redress of grievances and for amending and strengthening the laws, elections shall be held often." Those elections are on May 4th and November 2nd in the year 2010. So who will step forward? Who, motivated by their grievances and with a hope toward strengthening our laws, will seek public office, submitting themselves to the will of the people and the awesome responsibility of governing their peers?

In recent days, BlueNC has lit up in a grand discussion centering, more or less, on those decisions to become a candidate for elective office. Impassioned people have traded points and counterpoints about candidates who have announced their decisions to run. But I am more concerned about the people we haven't heard from. The people in your neighborhoods and mine that belong in the General Assembly. That belong on the Board of Commissioners. But, instead, we continue to join with them in watching those others answer the call to lead, while we seat in the back and wish and hope for something better. That "something better" is usually closer than we think.

Too often those people with strong opinions and even stronger community involvement shake their head at politics, saying that it's not for them, that they could never compete with the "good ol' boy network," and either choose to support a candidate that "mostly" speaks to them or else choose to hold their noise and vote, maybe more in motivation against an opposing candidate rather than who they end up voting for.

And, honestly, it is hard for that really good teacher, that really good community activist, that really good businesswoman or that really good doctor to win public office. There's the politics of the status quo, the established networks (in every city and town) of connections and money, and the time and trouble it takes to campaign. The "reward" for winning is a "part-time" job that pays little, with full-time headaches, a magnifying glass on your every move, and mostly an in-box full of demands and complaints at the end of the day.

But the rewards are priceless.

I suppose it's a little different for those of us on the left, whether we are registered Democrats or not. I recently was filling out an application for a fellowship with the Institute of Political Leadership. One of the questions asked me about my views on government and elected officials. That question (with a finite amount of space for the answer) gave me pause because I'm not sure I've ever fully asked myself how I view "government." But, in the end, the answer wasn't that complicated.

Government is a place where people come together to "promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity..." That's what those men in Philadelphia saw as the purpose of our country and its government under the Constitution. In our modern times, government is how we express who are as a people and what we want. Someone once said that budgets are moral documents, for in them we tell everyone what we think is important and what we wish to pursue and who we are. It is our duty, as citizens, to raise our voices and seek to be a part of that process of stating who we are as a county or state. It's being able to work on a school board improving the education of children, parents, and teachers who you see in the grocery store or at church or at the playground every single day. It's working to shape a county's growth in a way that promotes communities, preserves the environment, and builds economic growth on a county commission, so that everyone can be as proud to call it their home county as you are. It's making your parents and teachers and mentors and children proud that they contributed so much to see you serve the public.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are sixty-one days left. And tomorrow, it will be sixty. Who do you know that can walk through that door on Feb. 8? It is your duty to recruit. To ask. To beg. To tug on their jacket and drag them and push them through the door. Not because it's easy. Not because someone will just hand over an election to anyone. Not because there is guaranteed success. No, it's because of a Robert Kennedy quote I've often used: "All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity."

STOP talking about what's wrong. START talking to the person next to you about who should run for office. And, if that doesn't work, grab a mirror. Because sometimes that person who needs to be kicked in the ... Democrat ... is you. It's called public service for a reason. It's not easy. But, as citizens who care, we have a duty.

Now hurry up. Time is ticking.