Every citizen of the United States has a voice and our Government’s design is based on what the collection of voices say.  No one can take away that voice.  Even imprisonment or disability has no power to muffle its possible power.  Imprisonment does hinder your right to vote, though many country-changing Supreme Court cases began with an imprisonment that was fought.

In our modern society, more and more students are growing up to believe that one person could never make a difference. Students and young adults reference an America that is broken or corrupt.  Stories of government Senators being paid off by hidden supporters, Presidents abusing their authority to follow personal agendas, and stories of Justices buying their way into power with promises to rule a certain way, all feed into a growing lack of trust.  The lack of trust motivates some to change the system, as our Constitution clearly recommends that we do if need be, but mostly it discourages fresh young leaders from trying.  Politicians are mistrusted and scandals have led to the idea that electing anyone is to choose the lesser of two evils. 

Complacency arises in generations which have seen very little change from one President or congress to another.  Thoughts that nothing ever change hinder dreams of a better system or life.  The balance of power makes drastic change difficult, yes, but keeping one radical President from drastically changing our way of life is a safeguard the Founding Fathers and every citizen today would agree, is worth the slow steadiness of our government today.  Major changes, are also a matter of opinion.  Many things that seem useless or trivial to younger generations may affect the “baby boomers” a great deal.  Social Security reform has little or no affect on an eighteen year old, but when rumors of a reinstated version of the draft floated around before the 2004 election, youth interest shot up. 

Losing faith in change is nearly a plague in our country.  So many people fight amongst themselves and political parties at times will go so far as to call the other party un-American.  Being asked to choose one side or another on an issue can lead to a number of people criticizing or not even doing business with your company.  Such risks in simply saying, “I keep a gun to protect my household,” or, “guns are a major cause of crime,” keep many people from ever voicing their opinion.  The First Amendment allows for criticism, but too much keeps good people silent.

If you see a need for change and you choose to use your voice then we will help guide you along the path to change.  The two most important requirements for a voice to have any power or effect are passion and education.  You must be willing to sacrifice time and effort for your goal and you must truly believe.  Helping someone else is wonderful and honorable, but if you aren’t, yourself, willing to sacrifice, then you will not be affective.  Educating yourself about your concern, challenges caused by enacting your change, and all related systems will be the best way for you to ensure victory, large or small.  If you are willing to take the time to learn, it will be obvious as you make your arguments and respected.

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Starting Big or Small

Every cause or interest has a specific goal.  If your cause doesn’t, then it’s time you rethink it.  That goal may be world change or it might be as small as, though still infinitely as important as any other, making sure the school that your daughter goes to allows your daughter to excel to meet her potential.  It is never wrong to work towards a large goal.  Our country would never be where it is, allowing its citizens to make a difference, if certain individuals and small groups didn’t sacrifice their time and effort for goals larger than most dare to dream.

Running with our example of a student’s potential, let’s take a tour through the process of deciding where to start.  Firstly, you must have that before mentioned specific goal.  No judge, senator, president, or even teacher can define “reaching potential.”  If one could, your interest would be futile and all problems already solved.  It is a common set back to take the purely emotional approach, emphasizing words like “potential,” though a system of checks and balances only needs to know what to change, not how to feel when changing it.

Narrow down what about your situation can be changed.  In ours, perhaps her school has informed you that regardless of your daughter’s excellent scores and aptitude, they do not have either a Gifted and Talented program or the ability to let her skip grades.  Certainly you are angry, because, let’s say, the city schools have a Gifted and Talented Program and the county do not.  Consider the reasons, research the problem, and keep in mind what organization, committee, or even single man or woman has the authority to affect your situation.

Take a slow look and break down the issues.  Remember to tackle one battle at a time, and chose the one that is easiest to win.  What defines easiest?  Chose the one you know the most about, have the easiest access to resources for, takes the least money, or makes the smallest change.  It isn’t a way of settling for less, instead it lets you get one victory under your belt.  Small or large, a victory is still a victory and will be remembered and respected as such.  In our current example, choosing the easiest is easier said than done.  You do have one piece of evidence to your advantage.  You know for certain that city schools have a Gifted and Talented program.  They may not allow skipping grades so you must use the leverage you have.  In all instances, keep in mind and at the forefront of your argument that schools, no less than ten miles from your daughter’s, have a similar program available.  It is wrong that because of where you live, your child doesn’t get the same choices in education.  Almost any human would agree with this.  There are, however, a number of humans that can show you on ink and paper why it happens.  To offer a program of that nature requires funding that counties often do not share in.  Then, it requires teachers with certain extra certifications.  All are important to consider.  There is no more powerful way to enact change than to offer, in tandem, solutions to the challenges a change may create.

What this section is encouraging, is not for you to write your senator at the chapter break about how the school system should be reformed.  It is, instead, to open your eyes to the unfortunate challenges that occur when changes are made.  Specifically, it is to help you judge, and remind you to take a step back and educate yourself, so that you go to the right place for your goal.

The bad example, that you were waiting to laugh about, would be you, in order to ensure the best for your daughter, take off on a campaign to Washington D.C., insisting that you talk to the Secretary of Education.  Certainly, if you were to talk to him or her, it would make an impression, but you must remember the scope of an issue.  In the constitution’s tenth amendment, one that every American should familiarize his or herself with, powers, other than those specifically given to the federal government, are left to the states to manage.  There is no mention of school or education standards in the constitution, and though the federal government often insists on certain standards before distributing funds, school policies are handled almost entirely within a state.  So, we must forget about our trip to Washington.  Instead, you might say, let’s head to the capital city of our state.  There, we can talk to the Governor and the state School Superintendent.  Now, this approach might be the right one.  The Governor often doesn’t have the immediate say and command over schools as the Superintendent, so we decide that our Superintendent is the most appropriate choice. 

Considering again, the funding involved, imagine the amount of monetary change it would take to enact a solution to your concern.  If you were to convince the state board of education that it was completely necessary and they were willing to require that all schools in all counties put in place a Gifted and Talented program, then you have won a major victory for not only your daughter, but for all children in your state.  Chances of that are low at best, for most issues.  If it costs an extra ten dollars per child for a school to afford that program, adding it in one school or county is hundreds of times less expensive than adding it in every one.  The easiest road for your first victory would be to start with your county’s or city’s school board. 

Where you go from there is another question with different answers to consider.  Saying that may seem redundant, but remember, the next step may not always be up the ladder.  Going from your county board directly to the state seems logical, though in a state with sixty-five counties, your victory is affecting a small percentage of schools.  The state board may not see, even though a country agrees with your cause, that there is enough evidence supporting that the entire state would agree it worthwhile.  In that situation, it is best to win lateral victories.  Stay at the level you once won, with mounting wins on your record.  Then, with a number of counties behind you, parents of children in those counties supporting you, your voice will be a loud and proud one, with hundreds of echoes.

In this situation, it may seem obvious to start at the local level, but there are a number of topics and concerns that elicit the immediate, “I’ll write my congressman,” or, “I’ll boycott,” response, when, in fact, it isn’t even within your congressman’s scope.  It is important, if you take advice from this book or any other resource, that when you make your stand and use your voice, that you are talking to the right set of ears.

For some outstanding examples of starting small and making national change or starting from the top and being heard, check the resources section at the end of this book.  There, you can find references to other texts and web resources as well as those on this book’s site, like stories of success throughout history.

Examples of topics that should be started bottom Up

Examples of topics that should be started from the Top