Why did I even get involved?
If you have ever said this phrase, you are not alone. Maybe you thought it was going to be easy, maybe you really don’t remember why you “got involved.” Let me help you remember… You got involved because you thought you could make a difference; your kids were suffering, your neighbors were complaining, your taxes were going up every year…and for what? From 2006 to 2020, your property taxes nearly tripled. You saw that something had to be done and nobody was stepping up to the plate. You wanted to do good for your kids, your neighbors, the people in your town, and yes, for yourself.
First of all, let’s focus on “you saw that something had to be done.” This shows that you were paying attention, and you should be applauded for taking that first step towards enlightenment. You stepped away from the comfortable majority, to the awkward minority of your town and township.
The majority of the people in your town are not freedom fighters or fascists: The majority of your neighbors are the
IDGAF’s (I Don’t Give A Fu@k’s). Yes, the majority of the people are good people who can’t, or won’t, take the time to actually look for the truth, to make an informed decision, to see past the lies, to do the research. It’s not like you had nothing better to do; you work your ass off, but you got involved anyway.
“Nobody was stepping up to the plate.” You looked around and shouted, “somebody has to do something!”… and no one answered. You stared into the abyss and the abyss stared back, and there you saw the light. You saw the light when you went to your first school board meeting, village meeting, or township meeting. The light revealed itself in the form of like minded people who were also at that meeting. “I’m not alone,” you muttered under your breath; and the weight of the world seemed to lift slightly off your shoulders, but the nervousness remained as you stepped up to the podium to give your speech. To you, it wasn’t a speech: It was a testimony of your innermost feelings, an arsenal of words that would physically manifest itself and literally explode out of you if you didn’t release the pressure right here and now, so you made your voice heard. When you finished, you noticed the woman next to you start to clap, then the guy behind you, then the whole room. Now the weight lifted entirely, these weren’t the IDGAF’s, these were the people who felt just like you, and you realized for the first time in months that you were not alone.
Who are “these people”? These are the people who are interested in finding the truth, the “minority”, and now you work together with strangers to fix what is broken, to right what is wrong, to fix where you all live. A spontaneous meeting of the minds that seemed to materialize out of thin air and organize without any outside influence. Was it divine intervention? Some of these people become your friends; and not the fly by night kind of friends. These are caring, kind, and tough individuals who have their own unique perspectives, and now they are the ones you call when you feel down and you realize again that you are not alone.
Did you think it was going to be easy? What did you think it was going to be like? The truth is you didn’t think, you just did, and so did everyone else. A spontaneous formation of groups and committees sprouted up and took form as a grassroots movement. Like a machine, it started out a little sluggish, but with fine tuning it started firing on all cylinders; and just when the machine started making progress it hit a snag. Where is your plan B? Did you think it was going to be easy?
Truth is, you were so enamored with your own success that you forgot about the forces of evil that want only your complete failure.
“There are evils inherent in the system which cannot be remedied by any effort. The people must therefore find in themselves the strength necessary to bear the natural imperfections in their government”. (Democracy In America)
An oversimplification of “evil,” in this context, is corruption.
A school board that has a 76 million dollar surplus and raises its tax levy six percent is corrupt; a mayor of a village that has a 3 million dollar surplus, who wants to raise your property taxes 3.7 million dollars is corrupt; a township that raises its levy (5 million dollars) to construct an empty shell with four walls and a roof, and call it a road district building is corrupt. This is what you are fighting, and this is the fight you are winning. Did you think evil would not fight back? Did you think it would be easy?
The counter attack comes by way of a small but dedicated group of trolls who want only your destruction. They can’t be reasoned with, they can’t be bargained with, and they will never stop even if they get their way. The trolls set up groups on fakebook for the sole purpose of attacking you. They say vile, disgusting, hateful things about you. They dox your home, your business; they attack your kids, There is nothing sacred they won’t attack. They will use their own kids to manipulate yours. They send threatening letters to your church, and threatening emails to your boss. What do they want? They want nothing more than to get you out of the way, to beat you down, to discredit you by luring you into a fight or an argument of which you can’t win; because they will play the victim, and cast you as the bully. Did you think it would be easy?
Know your enemy. How do you begin to try to know something that you don’t understand? Let me help you with that… Our enemy is not a person, it is an ideology and a culture of corruption that took years to manifest. While we were asleep it grew; and while it grew, the people that benefited from that corruption became dependent on it and they will fight till the end to preserve it. Since you threaten that corruption they blame you for their discontent, I.E, their suffering.
Are you a summer soldier?… A sunshine patriot? Will you soon wither from this fight? And where are your friends? These people you so admired such a short time ago, are they missing in action? No. They, like you, feel like they are facing down a barrage of slings and arrows with nothing to blunt the blows but the occasional “good job,” and a thumbs up emoji. Two years ago that occasional “good job” would have set a fire under your ass that kept you going for weeks, but now with victory in sight, it only appeases you for a moment; but you are not alone.
Sigmund Freud observed that people tend to respond to suffering in three ways: distractions, intoxication, and fantasies. As far as distractions go, all you have to do is look at any fakebook group page to see where the individuals who fail to manage their suffering become neurotic. You can also see this manifest at certain public meetings, where the suffering individual will shout down people they differ with, and lie about board members… like failed trustee candidate, Broque Backal, who accused Trustee Ruben Pazmino of being the dark money overlord of the village; see village meeting video, January 11,2023 time 10:30. As far as intoxication goes, look no further than Drunky Spice, who disgraces us with her intoxicated presence at the Homer Township meeting; see video, October 18, 2022 time 55:56. Last, but not least… as far as fantasies go, you can see with your own eyes as our very own Wacky Spice makes up a fantasy about her alter ego “Juby Moriarty”; see Homer Village meeting video January 25, 2023 time 13:45. These people will never stop attacking you. So what are you going to do?… Keep fighting!
By now you probably get the theme of this piece… “Did you think it would be easy” and… “You are not alone.” This is for you, the people who are attacked for your opinions, marginalized for your beliefs, mocked for your religion, and slammed for your political affiliations. It’s also for the people who are thinking about getting involved, but are afraid to stick their necks out. “What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly.” Nothing that is worth having comes without sacrifice; and what sacrifice are you willing to put forth to secure a local government free from corruption?… Watch a video once in a while?… Go to a meeting once a month?… “Wait, what corruption?” You ask inquisitively. Here is the one sacrifice I will ask you to undertake; a sacrifice of about eighteen minutes. I want you to watch the Homer Glen village meeting on youtube, dated 2023 02/08, time 21:07, where trustee Jen Consolino lays out the case for, at the least, a federal investigation into mayor George Yukich… and multiple felonies. What?… you didn’t know this was happening in your town? Oh yah, it’s right here in your backyard. I’m sure the Tribune Southtown Edition picked that up… or not.
We are the change we have been awaiting. We are the voice of individual liberty. We are Rollo.
