Now What?

Barack has clinched the Democratic nominee. Hillary Clinton has FINALLY conceded. Now what? Do we all just wait for our turn at the polls and blindly select our choice for president? Or do we actually take this opportunity to hold each candidate's feet to the coals and make them actually TALK about something.

To many elections have passed where we allowed well-written speeches and entertaining (and sometimes disturbing) mud-slinging matches to determine our vote. When is the last time a presidential candidate felt the pressure to provide DIRECT answers to questions and concerns that were issued from the community. Other than the universal gas issue, when is the last time you heard a presidential candidate speak, in detail, about how he/she will address YOUR concerns. Have you ever watched debates and press conferences and wondered where in the world the questions were coming from. It seems as though they put a collection of news headlines in a hat and pull them out at random. Now, we all know that not all of our issues are highlighted in the news. I want to know what the candidate plans to do for me and my family. I don't want their "high-level" views. I want them to get down to ground level and make it CLEAR what they plan to do and what they represent. You (the candidates) are asking for my vote. Now, tell me why you should have it.

I'm a single mother with two kids to raise, feed and protect in a world that seems to profit, thrive and turn a blind eye to violence and corruption. Sure, I can teach my children the "right" way to live. I can shield them from becoming desensitized by monitoring what they watch and hear. I can even teach them to live by the golden rules. But, eventually, they have to step out into the real world that the government encourages us to view through rose-colored glasses. Doing this almost feels like raising victims in the world today. Something has got to give and I feel like it is my responsibility to make sure that that "something" is not me.

This election is the perfect opportunity to make a shift in power. The people sitting in office are there to represent US. They are suppose to represent our ideas and needs and then work together to bring them into fruition. There was a time when the government was held accountable for what they did and said. The Civil Rights Movement is a perfect example of this. But today, it seems we have learned to be complacent and adapt to whatever situations they create. We don't seem to question much anymore. We watch the news to learn of the new living standards that have been set for us. Then we go to work and complain about it and go home to make whatever adjustments we need to make to try and survive in it.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired. We need to take our control back. We do have power and that power is not limited to just our vote. It just starts there. There are more new voters on the scene than ever before. There's a whole new group of voices standing in line at the polls. Don't waste your presence there. Make them EARN-YOUR-VOTE. Make them say to the world what they will do for you. This way, you can call the world to the stand as your witness.

So, yes, I am going to take some time to really identify and pinpoint what my issues are as a single-mother, a black woman, and human-being. I will do my research and look for ways to get involved and get those issues out there. If you are sick and tired of being sick and tired, I recommend you do the same.