YOU! HAVE THE POWER | Dr. Ellen Brown

Hey Washington: What’s going on?

BY DR. ELLEN BROWN

Nearly 50 years ago, Marvin Gaye recorded a song that expressed all that was worrying America: war, domestic unrest, unemployment, police brutality. It appeared that America had turned its back on its own people. That song was “What’s Going On?”

The past is always a lesson for the future. Mothers are crying, Fathers are ready to defend their families. The right to peacefully demonstrate is punished with brutality, but law enforcement does not want to talk about it.

“Talk to me, so you can see, oh, what’s going on.”

The words go on to encourage the people as they work and wait for justice: “Everybody thinks we’re wrong, but who are they to judge us simply ‘cause our hair is long..” Marvin Gaye offered an answer in this song that has been labeled by Rolling Stone magazine as the “4th greatest song of all time.”

Today, standing on those lessons that rocked our world and made the people feel as though Washington had forsaken them, should we again pose the question to Washington: “What’s going on?”

Dina Titus: “What’s going on? You know we’ve got to find a way to bring some understanding here today.”

Steven Horsford: “What’s going on? We don’t need to escalate … we’ve got to find a way to bring some lovin’ here today.”

Susie Lee: “What’s going on? There’s too many … crying.”

Jackie Rosen: “What’s going on? There’s far too many … dying, don’t punish me with brutality.”

Southern Nevada’s representatives in Washington campaigned aggressively to win enough votes to get to Capitol Hill. They promised us they would listen to our concerns and fight for us. The government shutdown, which was temporarily ended as this magazine was going to print, caused a trickle-down effect that threatens our everyday lives right here in Southern Nevada.

If the past is our best indicator of our future, let’s exercise our power as voters, as constituents, as Nevadans — to trust that, working together, “we can find a way to bring some understanding here today.”

Ellen writes on political topics that encourage interest, discussion and action. Have a comment, question or idea? Contact Dr. Brown at ebrown.nci@gmail.com.