With Trump’s approaching presidency, protests are becoming more frequent not only in Salt Lake City but across the country. (It’s almost as if the majority of the country didn’t want him elected.) While I’m definitely anti-Trump and love a good rally, Trump isn’t the only politician who needs to be struck down, and marching through the streets miles and miles away from the center of corrupt politics isn’t loud or direct enough to get the attention required to make the change that we want. There are several other ways to make a lasting change.
It would be much more effective if the same amount of people who are marching through the streets wrote a letter each, declaring their anger and sending them directly to Congress. Not just emails, but actual letters. Get the post office workers involved.
The only way that a marching protest would really work is if every protestor in the country marched all the way to the Capitol all at once, if everyone could get organized enough. Imagine schools, stores and restaurants shutting down for a month because everyone decided to get together and stick it to the man.
The biggest way to make changes in government is to get involved. Hopefully the country will survive the next four years. Afterward, many college students will be in some sort of position to make a change. Did you know that you can run for city council if you’re over eighteen and have lived in the city for two years? The only way to change the world is if we change it ourselves. The government looks at us like a bunch of spoiled children whining, so all they’re going to do is stick us in the corner and ignore us. But what happens when the children grow up? The reason we’re all in college, other than to make a basic living, is that we all have a little superhero inside us. Those who passionately hate the education system will soon have the power to fix it. Those who are fed up with police brutality and the justice system can become police officers, judges and lawyers to fix the problem. We could also vote people into Congress who will actually listen to protesters and make positive changes. Lynn Jenkins, Mike Kelly and James Lankford are just three elected officials who want to defund Planned Parenthood and get rid of immigrants. As citizens, we have the opportunity to vote to get rid of these officials.
During the Revolutionary War, there were plenty of small protests. But nothing really changed until they decided to stop asking and start doing. By all means, continue making signs and t-shirts and marching. Please, reject the authority of those who don’t deserve it. At the very least it gets people involved, but that isn’t enough. The only way to change something is to change it yourself.
a.patience@dailyutahchronicle.com
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