TAKE A STAND | for Peace in Politics

1/09/2011

Dear Elected Official,

This past weekend our nation suffered a tragedy of infinite proportion as we received reports of the shooting in Tuscon, AZ, that has now been deemed an assassination attempt on the life of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

While the gunman was unsuccessful in his attempt, he was successful in wounding Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and a score of others, while claiming the lives of 9-year-old, Christina Taylor Green, and six others, including Judge Roll.

While there are facts still yet to be uncovered, there are however, horrible truths that are in plain sight to us all.

Over the course of the last decade, we have allowed political marketing to become transformed into a mix of slander, misinformation, fear and hate. While some may say that this mix has been around since the beginning of the process, what is unusually different is the levels of which this slime has polluted not only the national political landscape, but has shown itself toxic within our local communities as well. Across this country we have witnessed this toxin pollute town halls and debates. Health care reform rallies became so emotionally charged that it almost became a mandate to have adequate health care before you attended for fear of what may happen. These kinds of incidents served as alarms, indicators that the safety of our ability to peaceably disagree was at stake. They went unheeded. This weekend the alarm sounded again. This time, it wasn’t a drill.

Now, more than ever, it becomes clear that unity is the priority. Not just unity based on condemnation of criminal acts of violence, but unification based on the belief that bi-partisanship is possible and has its purpose. Unity, based on the belief that our Constitution serves as a document not to be amended simply to fit individual purpose, but as President Obama stated in his book, The Audacity of Hope “…the framework of our Constitution can organize the way by which we argue about our future.” Lastly, we should implore ourselves and the hearts of others to be unified in this mission of educating ourselves. Not just in science, technology, and financial literacy, but also in the political process, ensuring that our future generations come to the table of government armed with education and morally sound ideals, not with guns and hate. The lack of proper education in any discipline or subject matter can give way to flawed thoughts, fueled with the fear of the unknown, and a short fuse for the temperance that the political process demands for effective and well thought out legislation.

As President of the Philadelphia Young Democrats, I represent our Executive Board and our membership, when I say that we condemn the acts that occurred this past weekend, and we take an aggressive stance against violence not only in general, but especially when politically charged.  Our actions however, are not just baseless rhetoric. For the next 6 months, the Philadelphia Young Democrats will set up educational sessions across this city with the goal in mind to empower citizens with the tools of financial literacy, legal literacy, and knowledge of the political process. It is our heartfelt belief that these tools will assist in empowering individuals to help create change through proper and productive means, for not only for our political sake, but for the betterment of themselves and the vibrancy of our communities.

Join us in this mission. Sign our “TAKE A STAND” online petition to show your commitment to peace and harmony amongst our political parties and the communities they represent. Volunteer just an hour of your time to help us educate others in the power and efficiency of our political process. Together, we can reverse the destructive effects of an overly aggressive political climate in this country, and overcome the challenges we face ahead…in peace.

Sincerely,

Malik Boyd
President
Philadelphia Young Democrats

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