You know, I’ve been saying something for the last six months.
America doesn’t have a democracy problem.
America has a participation problem.
We’ve got 330 million people in this country, and somehow we’ve convinced ourselves that democracy is something that happens to us.
Something we watch on television.
Something we complain about on Facebook.
Something we argue about at Thanksgiving dinner.
And then, when Election Day comes around, millions of us sit on our asses and do absolutely nothing.
Well, I’ve got some good news for you this morning.
Something is happening in Greensboro, North Carolina.
And I think it’s pretty damn exciting.
According to an article published this morning in the Greensboro News & Record, early voting in Guilford County is up an astonishing 64% compared with the first two days of the 2022 midterm elections.
Sixty-four percent!
Nearly 21,000 people voted in the first two days.
Four years ago, that number was about 12,800.
And right next door in Forsyth County?
Early voting is up 56%.
Together, these two counties saw nearly 37,400 people cast their ballots in just two days.
That’s about 14,000 more people than during the comparable period four years ago.
Now, I don’t know about you, but that gets me pretty excited.
Because for months, I’ve been traveling around Greensboro talking to people.
Young people. Old people. Black people. White people. Republicans. Democrats. Independents.
I’ve been asking them questions.
And one thing I’ve discovered is that Americans aren’t nearly as divided as the politicians and television networks would have us believe.
Most people want the same basic things.
They want a place to live.
They want safe streets.
They want a good education.
They want healthcare.
And they want to be able to provide for their families.
Five things. That’s it.
And somehow, we’ve turned those five simple aspirations into a political circus that would embarrass Barnum & Bailey.
We’ve got politicians screaming at one another.
We’ve got billionaires spending fortunes trying to influence elections.
We’ve got television networks making billions of dollars convincing Americans to hate one another.
And meanwhile, ordinary people are just trying to pay the damn rent.
But here’s what I find so encouraging about what’s happening right now.
People are beginning to understand that they have the power to change things.
And nowhere is that more apparent than what’s happening with the students at North Carolina A&T and UNC Greensboro.
Now, this is a story that deserves national attention.
For years, students at these universities have had access to early voting locations on their campuses during presidential elections.
But this year, during the midterms, there are no on-campus early voting sites.
The students wanted that changed.
They protested.
They organized.
They went before the Board of Elections.
And ultimately, they didn’t get the locations they wanted.
So what did they do?
Did they go home?
Did they complain on TikTok?
Did they throw up their hands and say, “Well, I guess democracy’s broken”?
Hell no!
They organized marches.
They walked through Greensboro.
And they went to the polls and voted.
Now, think about that for a minute.
We’re talking about Greensboro, North Carolina.
The city where, in 1960, four young Black men walked into a Woolworth’s lunch counter, sat down, and changed American history.
Four college students.
Four young men who decided they weren’t going to accept the world the way it was.
They were going to change it.
And here we are, 66 years later, watching another generation of students take to the streets of Greensboro to exercise their rights.
Now, I’m not suggesting these two events are equivalent.
But I am saying they share something important.
The belief that ordinary citizens have the power to change their circumstances.
And that’s what democracy is supposed to be about.
Not politicians.
Not political parties.
Not billionaires.
Citizens.
You and me.
Now, here’s another interesting statistic from this morning’s article.
In Guilford County, about 11,100 Democrats voted during the first two days.
About 3,500 Republicans voted.
And approximately 6,300 unaffiliated voters cast ballots.
Six thousand three hundred people who aren’t registered with either major political party.
Now, we don’t know how those people voted.
And we don’t know whether this early surge will translate into higher overall turnout.
But we do know one thing.
People are participating.
And that’s what I’ve been trying to accomplish with the Truth Party.
You see, when I started this movement, I wasn’t interested in creating another political party that spends all its time arguing about who’s right and who’s wrong.
We’ve already got two of those.
And frankly, they’re doing a pretty lousy job.
What I wanted to do was something much simpler.
I wanted to get Americans off the sidelines.
I wanted to turn spectators into citizens.
Because here’s the dirty little secret about American politics.
The politicians work for us.
Not the other way around.
We hire them.
We pay their salaries.
We give them the authority to make decisions on our behalf.
And if we don’t like the job they’re doing?
We can fire their asses.
It’s called an election!
It’s one of the most extraordinary powers ever given to ordinary human beings.
And yet millions of Americans don’t use it.
Think about how absurd that is.
Imagine owning a business where you hire somebody to manage your money.
And every four years, you get the opportunity to review their performance and decide whether to keep them.
But instead of showing up for the meeting, you stay home and watch Netflix.
And then spend the next four years complaining about how they’re spending your money.
That’s American politics!
But maybe that’s beginning to change.
Maybe people are finally realizing that democracy isn’t a spectator sport.
You can’t sit in the stands eating popcorn and expect somebody else to win the game for you.
You’ve got to get on the field.
And that’s why these early voting numbers are so encouraging.
Now, I want to be careful here.
Two days of early voting don’t tell us who’s going to win an election.
They don’t tell us whether Democrats or Republicans will ultimately prevail.
And they certainly don’t tell us whether America has suddenly solved its political problems.
But they do tell us something worth celebrating.
People are showing up.
And showing up is where everything begins.
You know, I’m 69 years old.
I’ve lived through a lot of American history.
I remember the civil rights movement.
I remember Vietnam.
I remember the protests of the 1960s.
I remember when young people believed they could change the world.
And you know what?
They did.
Not overnight.
Not without setbacks.
And certainly not without enormous sacrifice.
But they changed things.
And now I’m watching another generation begin to discover that same power.
And it gives me tremendous hope.
Because I believe the greatest untapped resource in America isn’t oil.
It isn’t natural gas.
It isn’t artificial intelligence.
It isn’t even money.
It’s the American people.
Millions of intelligent, creative, hardworking people who have been convinced that their voices don’t matter.
Well, I’m here to tell you something.
Your voice matters.
Your vote matters.
Your participation matters.
And when enough people decide to get involved, extraordinary things can happen.
So here’s my challenge to everybody watching this video.
If you’ve already voted, fantastic.
Now help somebody else vote.
If you haven’t voted, make a plan.
Find your polling location.
Find out when it’s open.
And if you know somebody who needs a ride, offer to take them.
If you’ve got a young person in your life who’s voting for the first time, encourage them.
Because everybody has a first day.
And sometimes that first day changes everything.
Early voting continues through October 31.
Election Day is November 3.
We’ve got two weeks to demonstrate what American democracy is capable of when people actually participate.
And I don’t particularly care whether you’re a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent.
I want you to vote.
I want you to participate.
I want you to take ownership of your community and your country.
Because America doesn’t belong to Donald Trump.
It doesn’t belong to the Democrats.
It doesn’t belong to the Republicans.
And it sure as hell doesn’t belong to the billionaires.
It belongs to us.
All of us.
And this morning, looking at what’s happening right here in Greensboro, North Carolina, I’m beginning to think something remarkable might be underway.
Not because one political party is winning.
But because more Americans are getting involved.
And that’s how real change begins.
One person.
One conversation.
One vote at a time.
We’re not spectators anymore.
We’re citizens.
And Greensboro?
Greensboro is showing up!
I’m John Eagleton, founder of the Truth Party.
And remember:
Wake up. Get engaged. Participate. Demand accountability.
Let’s get to work.
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