I have had the good fortune to travel much of the world. From the most advanced societies to the poorest of third world countries, one problem was common to all: poor government policies coupled with the apathy of the people governed. When I came back to America I decided to get involved and make a difference in our political system.
Unlike many parts of the world, we in America are blessed to have a representative political system. It is truly a grass-roots system where average citizens can get involved and have their voices heard. Unfortunately not many of us do.
I got involved during the presidential election of 2012 by simply walking into the Republican Town Committee headquarters on Main Street and volunteering my time. I soon started to attend the monthly meetings and began to understand and participate in the process by which our leaders are chosen. My first vote was to choose our local representative to the state central Republican Party. These are hardworking unpaid volunteers whose job is to convey the viewpoint of the various towns they represent to the state party leaders. Soon after I also got to vote on the nomination of various town officials whose decisions affect our everyday life. Recently I had the honor of being one of the town representatives to the state Republican convention to choose the candidates for Congress, governor, and other state offices.
I also had the opportunity to meet and get to know many of the candidates personally. I, along with other members of the town committee, was able to ask many tough questions and explore the viewpoints of the various candidates on a face-to-face basis. The interesting thing about this process is that if they act in a manner not consistent with their stated views, they will need to answer for their actions to the volunteers
who put them there.
As we approach this very important election season, I urge everyone who is reading this to get involved in the process. Our country faces many difficult problems, including chaos on our southern border, economic stagnation, high unemployment, declining living standards, abuse of our freedoms (e.g. the IRS scandal), and a disastrous fiscal condition, to name a few. Our beautiful state of Connecticut is overtaxed, over-regulated, in a fiscal mess, and hostile to business which creates jobs for the rest of us. It is our town, our state, and our country. The people we elect work for us; we pay the salaries of every elected official and government worker. We need to see to it that people are elected who believe in individual freedom over government control, economic freedom over government central planning (so our economy can grow), and a strong and secure America. By simply volunteering a few hours a month you can make a huge difference. It is time for good people to make their voices heard. Please visit ridgefieldctgop.org.
Vito Ciarvino is amember of the Ridgefield Republican Town Committee, which supplies this column.