This is America:
January 3rd, 2019 was a new day for America with the swearing of a younger, diverse, educated group of new Congresswomen and men. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez, Lauren Underwood, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and Ayana Pressly, Congress now mirrors and is representative of the people. Additionally, Nancy Pelosi has become the most powerful woman in the world holding the speakership place again. America’s Congress has not had the representation for the people since the beginning-a reason why we have fallen in common sense policies. Having elected officials who mirror what the nation looks like, understands the daily way of life and is relatable leads to better policy for the nation.
Midterms 2018 has shown us it’s long overdue for our government to not have elected officials in positions creating legislation beneficial to every citizen. Sidebar: not having the demographic representation in government at all levels is why there have been unwise legislation not benefitting to people of color, future generations and our nation.
“Sidebar: not having the demographic representation in government at all levels is why there have been unwise legislation not benefitting to people of color, future generations and our nation.”
America’s new hip, diverse and younger Democratic house is poised to make huge strides this year. Reopening the government, climate change, income inequality, the voting rights act are concerns put on the list to tackle. It’s awesome of the representation mirrored in the new Democratic House of Representatives, it’s even more awesome with a younger generation of millennials shaping the national politics.
Representation:
From 2016 until 2018 the focus was on millennials, a highly educated, the most diverse, the generation surpassing Baby Boomers and Gen Xers becoming the largest voting bloc. Millennials are now some of the newly elected Representatives sworn in on January 3rd- Lauren Underwood, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar just to name a few. What else is electrifying about the newly younger, diverse representatives they are progressives who are promoting progressive policies such as Medicare for all and climate change initiatives. Sidebar: the most exciting aspect of the newly elected officials, some are representing all-white districts, a big change from heavily African-American and Hispanic districts being represented by white representatives who did not relate nor understood the difficulties of those communities.
“Sidebar: the most exciting aspect of the newly elected officials, some are representing all-white districts, a big change from heavily African-American and Hispanic districts being represented by white representatives who did not relate nor understood the difficulties of those communities.”
As history tells us, when it comes to changes demographically and laws passed to help those under-served, there is a group of people who will commit physical harm and social harm because they don’t like the changes. However, the upside this is a shrinking base.
“It’s great of the new diverse Congress, however we must be vigilant of those with attitudes who continue to not accept the changes of our nation.”
Making this point is important because of the horrible history of African-Americans and Hispanics being represented by white elected officials who failed to propose and pass legislation helping the people and the community. It’s also important to note the attitudes of white citizens with their antiquated mentality of ownership to witness the attitudes towards their newly elected representatives of color. “It’s great of the new diverse Congress, however we must be vigilant of those with attitudes who continue to not accept the changes of our nation.”
The New, The Young & Diversity:
From Vox: “The sharp contrast in the House served to underline the stark differences between how the respective parties have approached promoting women and candidates of color. While Democrats have made it their mission to diversify the kinds of candidates and leaders they elect, Republicans have historically shied away from doing so for fear of being associated with identity politics.” Um, the Republican being an all pale male body with outdated way of policymaking is identity politics and is what the party is illustrating. Nevertheless, the failure of the Republican party to seek diversity for better representation is why the party is shrinking.
“Um, the Republican being an all pale male body with outdated way of policymaking is identity politics and is what the party is illustrating. Nevertheless, the failure of the Republican party to seek diversity for better representation is why the party is shrinking.”
It’s often stated diversity is key for an organization to improve which have been proven to be true. Moreover, having younger people involved with new ideas has helped many organizations flourish. With our new, younger and diverse democratic House of Representative we can expect an influx of policies representative of all people and generations.
We can expect the younger Representatives to model after President Obama who mobilized the generation putting him in the White House and promoting progressive policies of criminal justice reform, raising the wage, and climate change. Sidebar: the awesomeness of having a younger democratic representative is they understand the future.
“Sidebar: the awesomeness of having a younger democratic representative is they understand the future.”
Understanding the future is essential for our nation to reclaim its place back in the world and to move forward. Recap: in many of my blogs, I reference Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Wallace, 2 epic politicians who understood the future when running for office campaigning on the same problems we are facing in 2019.
“Recap: in many of my blogs, I reference Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Wallace, 2 epic politicians who understood the future when running for office campaigning on the same problems we are facing in 2019.”
What has failed our nation for too long is not understanding the future which has kept us stagnant. Our younger, new and diverse congress who is relatable with progressive ideas proven in other nations is the first step in getting America back on track.
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/3/18167176/history-congress-women-diversity
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html
Also published on Medium.