Vote, Dammit!
My name is Jamie Wood, the interim Political Education Committee chair for our new group, Working Families Joliet. And I live on the far west side of Joliet, actually Kendall County Joliet. But for me, ALL of Joliet is my city, my home for 20 years. I am here with my colleagues from Working Families Joliet because I want change from Joliet to Washington D.C. And the way that is going to happen is if I remind you all of one basic right, NO, one basic obligation, and that is to Vote! Voting is the chance we have to change our democracy into something that works for all of us.
Yes, I know many of you vote, at least in the U.S. Presidential Elections. Many of you think that is enough, and that is the only time it matters. But voting is important in ALL elections. We must vote in Midterm elections, State Elections, Local elections, like city council, mayoral, school boards, county boards...dog catcher. Every election counts, every vote counts.
Alas, there are those of you who don’t vote at all! Why? Well, the main excuse I always hear is that, “Voting doesn’t change anything, all politicians are the same.” To you all, I say, of course it doesn’t change, because they count on you all to be complacent, not believe in the system, not to believe in our democracy. They want you all to believe that no matter what we do, it will not change. They want you to stay home on election day, all election days.
They don’t want you to be educated, informed on what is going on in the world, the nation, the state, OUR city, our beloved Joliet. So the politicians and corporatists will do whatever it takes to keep their power, like passing Northpointe without caring about what their constituents really want! So, yeah, do them a favor, stay home, don’t vote. Don’t get involved, stay home. You will be helping them. I am telling you all: Do not be complacent, your vote matters!
Look, don’t believe me that your vote is important? Your vote is important! Look how the forces in power try to stop you all from voting. In history, they didn’t want many of us to vote. And they still don’t! They always came up with ways to stop us, and they are doing it now! Gerrymandering (always a problem), voter suppression, rolling back the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and now...they are slowing down the United States Mail during a pandemic and demonizing Mail-In-Ballots before November, all of this to keep us from voting! And they are doing it right in front of our eyes!
Still not convinced that voting is not important? Well, how about: It’s an insult to those that came before us. Some Americans literally died to get their voices heard, to vote! You insult the memory of those who fought to get the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. You insult the women who were ridiculed for wanting the simple right to vote! Yes, voting does matter. Voting can change things. But nothing will change unless we all do this one simple thing, Vote!
You want to end corruption at all levels? Vote!
You want money out of Politics? Vote!
You want Police Reform? Vote
You want someone to “Say No to Northpointe?” Vote!
You want Environmental Protections? Vote!
You want Good Jobs and Wages? Vote!
You want to protect Civil and Human Rights? Vote!
Please vote! If you are not registered to vote, get registered! To make change we need to get as many people, who are eligible, to vote. Working Families Joliet will be working with local civil rights groups, like Speak Up and Vote, to get as many people from Joliet to vote as we can. Together with other groups, individuals, and candidates, we will make our world, our nation, our state, and most of all, at our foundation, the City of Joliet better and working for everyone!
Finally, I would like to end this speech with a quote from a favorite song of mine, and I want you all to remember: “Poor folks ain’t got a chance unless they organize.” And that’s what we are going to do, here in Joliet.
