All of my students know that I am a firm believer in being an active participant in upholding our democratic values. As we have seen these past few years, so many of the freedoms and liberties we enjoy and have enjoyed are actually quite tenuous. We’ve seen the erosion of so many principles we held dear. Hard-fought civil rights battles are being overturned state by state, and we must be sure to pay attention to what is happening around us. We are all incredibly busy, but we cannot be too busy to know who represents us, what issues are being discussed, and what cases are making their way through the various court systems.
So, a quick pop quiz: Can you name not just the president and vice president, but the following: your two U.S. senators, your representative in the House, your state representative and your state senator, and your city council member? Do you know when each of these individuals is up for re-election; do you know their voting record and signature pieces of legislation? If you like their policies and work ethic, have you donated to their campaigns or found ways to volunteer to assist in their reelection efforts? If you do not like their behavior or policies, have you researched their opponents and paid attention to their upcoming challengers?
We must remember that our democratic republic is fragile. We cannot look at the strides we have made, pat ourselves on the back, put our accomplishments in a frame, and put them in a wall and walk past them each day. If this country is to work, we must get to work and stay diligent about making it work.
Keeping our freedoms involves paying attention and voting for people who will uphold these values. That also means paying attention to what is going on in other cities and states across the country so we can support elected officials doing the work. We can do that by making sure we donate to campaigns, inform family and friends living in particularly vulnerable states, and educate ourselves on issues so we can assist in educating others.
In the next few months, there will be primary elections across the country. You can do your part by making sure you and your family and friends are registered to vote. We must be proactive in making sure our democracy does not slide into fascism. We must make sure we take time out of our busy lives to educate ourselves about the many issues around us. Lower-level judges on our ballots often make their way through the system and can become judges who make decisions that will affect our lives forever.
It is never too late to begin to educate ourselves and participate in our political future.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio; and a 2023–24 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.