Progress Stops When Passivity Begins

     Liberals and progressives like me are generally "make love, not war" kind of people. When we see injustice, we roll up our sleeves, work to get people elected, and say, "okay, now you fix it".  Generally, that strategy has not worked out well for our people, or the people being treated unjustly. Counter that with conservatives of this generation who are not passive and definitely turn their beliefs into action. Thankfully, there are seemingly at least 7 million more of us than them (with a generous helping of independents swinging back and forth like a pendulum) that have beaten back a tyrant recently. But, conservatives are a relentless bunch and, unlike us, will not rest until they figure out how to rig the game in their favor, as they have successfully done at the state legislature level in quite a few states. 

Right now, there is a tug-of-war at the state level to unlevel the playing field where state and congressional districts are concerned. In good ol' Iowa, they are asking the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, who drew the new state congressional map, to dig in a little deeper because of their concerns over the shape of the districts or as one Senator Roby Smith said, “There are clear indications that plan one can be improved by a second iteration addressing compactness and population deviation." Kind of like Iowa football, it is a game of inches where a call going your way would help you to run up the scoreboard. As it stands, the new map looks like folks from western Iowa are trying to move east as fast as they can to make room for more hog confinements. Population shifts of people from rural counties to more urban ones (and/or possibly people leaving the state and being replaced by new urban Iowans) show that it is actually conservatives who are looking to consolidate their hold on the statehouses. They likely they will, no matter what unless counties themselves are allowed to consolidate (which the state legislature would likely not allow any more than allowing counties to dictate a minimum wage in their area).

So the real question is can liberals and progressives elect people to statewide or federal offices and can they be effective in pushing a more liberal agenda through? Well, if the Biden presidency is your proof, it will be a long time in coming. The likelihood of a one-party hold on the House, Senate, and White House is slanting more towards no as time goes on. The ability of one party to hold sway at the state level is favoring conservatives in states like mine. In large population states, the grip is lessening, but not for a decade. So, the conservatives are pushing hard to game the system by saying the system has already been gamed (against them). They are pushing voting and election laws intended to limit the ability of liberally, progressive, and even many independent voters to vote conveniently and easily. 

In the past, when one voice is louder than others, it is generally the middle that is moved--one way or the other by that voice. When that voice is amplified by social and other media, it is hard not to believe that voice will be ignored. Therefore, the only way to counteract it is to be just as loud or louder and offer a different view. Where is that voice coming from? It certainly is not happening right now. We claim we are the "ones we've been waiting for", what are we waiting for?