You’d think with the craziness of the election, any normal and conflict-avoiding teenager would be insane to volunteer themselves to be a part of any political movement. Whether it be Team Hill or Team Trump, no one was safe. Lucky for me, I wasn’t a part of the Presidential mess. My mess consisted of a woman named Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.
That’s right folks. 2016 wasn’t just the year to decide the presidential fate of these United States. Sorry to burst your tiny, unaware bubble. If you didn’t already know, a House Representative is elected every even amount of years and holds office until the next election. You might ask why anyone would care about the election of a Congressman when the threat of either Trump or Hillary in office was at stake. Well, that’s simple. To people like me, who want a voice in what happens to not only my future, but the generations after mine, the congressmen are the most important piece in this giant board game of politics. Rather than worrying about who would probably either ruin or progress the country in the next four years, I chose to focus on the person who could give me the most voice in government. This is where New York’s own tiny power piece Congresswoman Slaughter came into play. Your local congressmen serves as the voice of those with concerns who stand closely behind them. So as long as the people continue to speak into their congressmen’s ear, we would always have a voice. Whether we claimed to have one or not...
Any citizen’s chances of ever sitting down with our commander-in-chief and talking about any complaint they hold about an issue around them are about the same as me making the New York Knicks basketball team as their starting center. I would completely get dunked on constantly by people and issues I didn’t really care about just so the opponents (our Presidential Candidates) can get their point across that they were better and knew more than me or the other candidate. Which could be and probably is the case. But a congressmen, unlike those running for [resident, would be happy to sit on the bench with you and discuss how to make your team, along with your play better. They were the coach's assistant that was always modest, but you listened to and insisted that they were better than your coach. The re-election campaign of Congresswoman Slaughter was the only source of comfort I felt in such a politically chaotic summer.
What made me love the congresswoman more was her presence. Now you might assume all people of power carry themselves with confidence and a certain haughtiness that just made your eyes squint to find the pedestal they thought they stood on to make them better than everyone else. Congresswoman Slaughter wasn’t like that. Not only did she stand at least a foot shorter than me (I’m 5’6"), but when I met her, she refused to accept anything but a hug from me. I had never met this women a day in my life, yet she refused to treat me like a stranger or a business partner. I was a citizen fighting for a cause. It wasn’t just a brief hug either. It was one of those hugs your grandma gives you to say that she cares for you and will do anything in her power to help you. In this case, she could bring it to Congress if I asked. Now don’t get me wrong, this one little experience didn’t automatically have me jumping onto the Slaughter Train. I was still an Independent and a strong-minded middle,I still didn’t want to vote for anyone politically yet. I knew nothing about her other than she was really short and gave great hugs, so why would I even think of jumping train and hopping onto the tiny boat? Easy, I knew the power a congressman could give me. That’s all anyone wants right? A say in what happens around us and to us in this country we and our kids and our grandchildren will call home for eternity. I knew I wanted change and I knew the only way to at least have something I wanted said, was through her. Politics is the only place I felt to be greedy and needy because it was my world. In everyone’s world, we want things to be perfect or at least right in our world so we can live peacefully. Well, Slaughter was my one ticket to things being right in my world. A congressman’s job was to be greedy and snobby for the people they represent. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter was known for getting a lot done for the town of Rochester and her other districts. She has supported 397 bills to help the people around me and of the bills she has sponsored,eight bills were enacted and signed by the president. Many of the bills she sponsored centered around helping the people of her districts and letting their voices be heard. From domestic violence to sex discrimination to wildlife help. She has been apart of many bills that have set out to help the people in her districts. This lady was amazing and was always out to help the people she represented. Even if she was from Kentucky, she still lived as and loved Western New Yorkers. That’s what we needed. A representative that loved us and set out to make sure that our presence was recognized in Congress.
Even though I realized who I supported, I still wasn’t ready to face the big presidential election. But, I was okay with it. There were bigger things that needed to be done anyway. So sadly, until November 8, I am still stuck in this giant mess called elections.
Listen, to all of you students, adults, high schoolers that are able to vote by election day. Please, if you aren’t interested in the election of our president, please look into your State’s Congressional election. If any of you are like me, you are probably just as annoyed with any Trump and Hillary news that is thrown at you and you are ready to pack up and leave the country on November 8 and never look back. But hear me out, your Congressmen is the closest thing you could have to a say in the way your country is run. Again, you’re probably thinking that a congressman is only out to canvass themselves and make themselves look better like any other politician. Let me be the first of many to tell you; they are only there to help you. The House of Representatives is literally a group of people meeting to represent the people they were voted in office by. They are and never were there for their own benefit. They are only there to make sure that your voice is heard. A congressman is voted into office to voice the opinion of the people, never themselves. So, if anything, please pay attention to the election of your congressman. Even if you would rather stay unaffiliated. YOUR VOICE MATTERS. Every citizen’s voice in this country matters and if you want it heard, please contact your local House Representative and vote for the candidate you feel represents your affiliations and voice the closest. Even if it isn’t exact, the odds that you and your Congressman meet eye-to-eye are very likely. To make your voice heard, they are the only way.
