We Are the Government

by Susan Herder, Secretary-Administrative Officer of DFL SD 59

I’m wondering if you or your family member have fought for your country? Or have friends who did? For me, both of my grandfathers fought in WWI, my father helped liberate Buchenwald concentration camp in WWII, he lost his leg in the Korean war, my husband worked for the Navy. His father was a labor lawyer.

I never thought I would also have to fight for the rights that my family defended. My fight pales in comparison to theirs, but I’m willing to do as much as I can. I think we all know what has happened in other countries, like Nicaragua, or Hungary, Russia, China, North Korea. The move towards authoritarianism. And we can see that same trend here in the US. 

We need to speak up about what is happening. We need to feel confident in saying that, GOVERNMENT IS GOOD. We, the people, are the government. GOVERNMENT IS WHAT PROTECTS US.  

Before I talk more about government, I want to talk about four points the DFL stands for:

1. Everyone should be able to make a living wage. You should be able to support yourself and your family and put some money away.

2. Everyone deserves a good education. Learn to read and write, learn history, go to college if you want, or technical school if you prefer.

3. Good health care. If you fall and hurt yourself, you shouldn't have to think about whether you can afford the ER.

4. Respect.  Everyone deserves respect. Everyone should have the freedom to choose how they live. As long as you’re following the law, the DFL has got your back.

Those are the four points. Please repeat them to your friends and family during political discussions.

Now, since you are all political people, I want to review the details about the parts of government that allow us to keep working towards these four points.

Democracy - another way of saying that is governance by the consent of the governed. 

Rule of Law - No one is above the law, and no one is below the law. Everyone is subject to the same laws.

Civil Liberties and Rights are freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and legislation, like freedom of speech. They strengthen democracy.

Checks and balances - in our constitution, the Legislative branch comes first and represents the people. That’s Congress. They decide what our government does. The Executive branch, the president and his administration, is second; they are supposed to execute the decisions of the legislative branch. And the Judicial branch comes third; they decide how the law applies.

States' rights - this means that the federal government, the national government, has different spheres of responsibility than the States. This allows our attorney general to sue the government to protect us. 

Allies - they help us preserve peace. Democracies rarely start unprovoked wars.

All of these parts of our democracy are, right now, being eroded. We all need to be really clear-eyed and see what is happening. 

So I’m asking you, please tell your friends that if they want these four points - a living wage, education, health care, and respect - they need to know that government is good. Together, we are all the government.

The opinions expressed in the SD59 Blog are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent a consensus of thought or position of the DFL.