I spoke with my brother today. A few weeks ago, I sent him a hard copy of my book “Mr. G. Smith Goes to Washington.” He read it, I assume, in its entirety. He said I was a fool. That I must have dementia to think I could go against the established political hierarchy.
By any measure, he is right. There is me, a book laying out where I stand on the problems that plague this country today, and $300. When I wrote the book, I had $1,000. The printing took most of the rest.
But you know what:
I owe it to all those thousands of young men and women, citizens of this country, who died or were maimed because a President wanted to go to war without a declaration of war from Congress. Then, when it was over, sometimes after twenty years of fighting, nothing had changed. For them, I will play the fool.
I owe it to those who live in poverty in small towns where the drinking water is contaminated with pig feces from the feedlot or the meatpacking plant. For them, I will play the fool.
I owe it to the widowed senior living on Social Security who is still below the poverty level in the U.S. Who cannot afford their medications. For them, I will play the fool.
I owe it to the working man and woman who pay their taxes every April, while Washington loses hundreds of billions of dollars a year to fraud and waste, and no one is ever held to account. For them, I will play the fool.
I owe it to the mother and father who buried their son or daughter because of one pill laced with fentanyl, bought off a street corner or through a phone. For them, I will play the fool.
I owe it to the young family, both parents working, who do everything right and still cannot afford a home of their own. Who watch grocery and rent prices climb faster than their paychecks. For them, I will play the fool.
I owe it to the citizen who stopped voting years ago because they believe it no longer makes a difference. Who believes no one in Washington is listening. For them, I will play the fool.
My brother went on to say that if I felt that strongly, I should volunteer in some capacity with the established political system, the same one that put our country in the position it is in now. Support the institution before supporting the people. That is not what this is about. It is about a movement of the people to retake their government within a constitutional framework. It is more than I dare imagine, but I pray this becomes a movement of the people.
He also used that tired old line: that if by some miracle I succeeded, I would only split the vote, to the detriment of the country. Things can always get worse. But look at where we are. An administration that treats the Constitution as a suggestion. A mother shot dead behind the wheel of her car by a federal agent, minutes after dropping her child off at school. Votes do not belong to either party. They belong to the people who cast them. So if my supporters and I split the vote, too damn bad.
What if Rosa Parks had given up her seat? What if the citizens of the United States simply said “that is just the way it is” and kept letting today’s robber barons, the richest one percent, hold over 30 percent of the nation’s wealth?
Now there are those of you who may read this post and find it entertaining, and that is fine in and of itself. Some folks found the Declaration of Independence entertaining too. King George, for one. But I also hope there are those who find something in these words, and in the words of my book “Mr. G. Smith Goes to Washington,” that is more than just entertainment.
To those, I ask that you spread the word to your friends, your fellow workers, the guy or gal on the barstool next to you. Tell them they can find the download at: glenthomas.substack.com
Contact me at gtsmith74@outlook.com. At this point I am not looking for money. That may come later if we can get this off the ground. Right now I need people with election knowledge and organizational skills that I do not have. Or just email me to let me know I am not alone in this.
