“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You
cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the
person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid
anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.” Cesar Chavez
As Election Day draws near, I hear many people saying that
they may not vote, that there isn’t much difference between the candidates,
etc. Regardless of how you may feel
about the candidates, voting is a right and a duty. Everyone who is eligible should vote, because
it will make a difference.
I know that my vote will count as a woman, as an African-American,
and as someone who feels passionately about issues like immigration. I have compared the positions of the
candidates on a variety of issues and know whose positions are closer to my
own. However, I also know that if I don’t
vote, then there will be one less voice for women, and all the other categories
that I fit into.
When the election is over, the parties will look at the
results and try to determine what they mean, not only in terms of who is
elected president or to Congress, but in terms of the direction that the vote
is moving for the future, which will have an impact on policies legislators
pursue going forward. Have certain groups of voters been energized or turned
off by the issues that were raised, or not raised? Those who voted will have a
more legitimate voice after the election in the halls of power, when they are
pushing for a particular issue.
Although I would argue that Latinos don’t make a homogenous
voting bloc, they have been treated as one in this election, and President
Obama recently argued that he may win the election because the GOP has
alienated Latino voters (article).
Time will tell if this is true or not. Polls have clearly been undercounting Latinos,
as shown in a study
by Matt Barreto. You can be sure that analysts will be examining exit polls
to determine the impact of the Latino vote, and this will have an impact on policy
decisions by those elected. The demographics of this country are changing and
we will soon be a majority minority country.
However, that majority has to vote and run for office in order to
exercise any kind of power over policy.
The future of immigration policy is in the hands of the
voters. The presidential candidates and
congressional candidates have laid out their positions. Of course, this is not
the only issue that voters will focus on, it’s clear that the economy is the
top issue. However, I would argue that the two issues are intertwined. A coherent, practical immigration policy will
lead to more economic growth in this country as I argued in my previous
column.
I always return to history when discussing these issues and
there are many historical examples of groups, particularly immigrants, having
an impact on the direction of policy. German,
Irish, Polish, Italians, all of these groups have had an important impact on
politics and politicians from these groups have been important to policy
change. It may take time, but every
election is another step in a particular direction. If you care about issues and the future for
your family and children, you must raise your voice, vote and help this country
determine the direction it will go in the future.
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