Maritza Leal. Peninsula 360 Press.
Whenever an election is looming, it is a challenge to reach out not only to our Hispanic community, but also to the skeptics who are tired of so many unfulfilled promises by elected officials. But what should our reaction be to such circumstances?
Definitely not to faint. Because the right to vote is our right under our Constitution; moreover, it is the way to raise our voice from our trenches and, consequently, send a message to the government regime -whatever it may be- of our approval or disapproval, that we are watching them so that a true democracy and the rule of law can be carried out.
It is enough to look at the past, at history, to realize that there were generations of women and the African-American community who dreamed of this right and who, unfortunately, never witnessed it become a reality.
Today we have that right and privilege at our fingertips.
Let us not be satisfied with a representative democracy; rather, let us make the exercise of an authentic participatory democracy a reality, where inclusion is a way of life with responsibility and respect.
Here in Redwood City, we have experienced firsthand the gentrification, light industrial zoning changes, school district changes, increase in family homelessness and coupled with that the catastrophic effects of the pandemic that we are going through and coping with heroically.
We will definitely not be the same in the immediate future, but it is up to us - and only us - to define our future life, because our future depends largely on what is done or not done, for or against our community. Because our future depends, to a large extent, on what is done or not done, for or against our community. Will we be witnesses of how our dreams vanish in front of our eyes? Or will we be the protagonists of history? Setting a historical precedent and opening a gap for future generations who lack a culture of voting.
If there is one thing I am convinced of, it is that we are sufficiently capable of correcting this imperfect democracy where agendas contrary to our interests have been imposed on us; people like me, who are known in popular jargon as the ordinary citizen, as a person who does not have a six-figure salary and who goes out every day to earn his bread.
Democracy means the power of the people ??d?mos? and ?krátos?. Enough of krátos alone and let's start together the path to the inclusion of ?d?mos? and thus have the satisfaction of having contributed to the path towards an authentic participatory democracy, learning more from our local politics, elected officials and future candidates.
Let us honor the efforts of our ancestors, many of whom fought and paid in blood for civil rights, including the right to vote. Let us continue to build the profile of our community and choose who will be in charge of our government and include in their agendas the problems that afflict a great majority of us and not a select group.
Maritza Leal is a Mexican migrant and activist. She lives in Redwood City.
