The political season seems to be picking up here in the US.  Sort of like the pollen that comes with spring, it feels like a time that should be beautiful but in fact just sort of clogs one’s systems and makes everyone feel tired and icky.

I’m starting to see a lot of the usual political and ideological attacks on social media.  A lot of people, understandably, are very dour about the government, society, social change, and even the world.  They take a step back from it all and just marvel at the unending cycle of graft, corruption, negligence, exploitation, and mismanagement.

It’s very easy to look at the world, or even just one’s country (whichever country that may be), and become disillusioned.  But it’s important to remember a key element to cycles: they are dependent on the cycle going unbroken.  A needs to feed to B needs to feed to C needs to feed to D.  And if that cycle is broken, the whole system can come crashing down.

Now, in the natural world, this spells disaster.  But when facing social and political corruption, it can mean the very lasting change we all hope for.

With concerted effort, we can break the cycle.  We can see to it that B does not feed into C.  And if C withers and dries up, there goes D.  A will soon follow.  Disrupt the cycle and the whole system will come crashing down.

How this matters in politics is that if voters can rally around a single issue, a single agenda, it can get pushed through.  And that is the disruption that will break the cycle.  Campaign finance reform, minimum wage, gerrymandering repeal, whatever you think will disrupt the cycle, go for it.  Promote voting for it.  Get people talking about it.

If we break the cycle of corruption and graft, the system will begin to remedy itself.  Will it be replaced with another form corruption?  Sure, but we have elections every two years for that very reason.

No force is so great that the collected voice of the people cannot bring it down.