By Chris Benevento, News Staff
With an official arrest warrant out for ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, it appears that the Ukrainian uprising has been somewhat of a success for the people, but the coming days will determine the future of Ukraine.
For good or for bad, the Ukrainian people in Kiev were dissatisfied with their leaders, particularly Yanukovych, and decided that they were willing to go to the extreme to change their situation.
Regardless of sentiment pertaining to the situation in Ukraine, it’s impossible to ignore the message it sends to people around the world: revolution is still possible in 2014.
This does not mean that any citizen’s disagreement with government policy is a just cause for action. However, it does make a powerful case for the power of public sentiment. When a government fails to represent the public, make decisions effectively or prioritize the well-being of its citizens, the people have the ability to enact change.
A revolution in the United States is a difficult scenario to imagine, and one not likely to happen. It would take a major abuse of power to ever see piles of tires burning on the steps of the Capitol. That being said, the Ukrainian uprising does cast a new lens on a recent issue in US politics: the debt ceiling.
Mere months ago, our country faced a government shutdown. As a nation we confronted a tough decision: whether to increase the debt ceiling or not. Our bipartisan leadership struggled to reach an agreement and deferred to bully tactics (on both sides) that were based more in pride and calculation than actual analysis and fact.
When the decision deadline hit, Congress was in a fierce stalemate and the people ended up taking the brunt of the consequences. To add insult to injury, the final resolution was hastily pushed out and plagued with issues.
Mediocrity was remedied with mediocrity. There were no impeachments, no resignations and no marches on Washington. The government failed the people and suffered no repercussions – the cycle continued.
US politics has become a bipartisan pissing contest. Increasingly, it seems as though the only things that matters to our politicians are status, party strength, reelection and the other guy. What happened to the needs of the people? As a country we have placed too much emphasis on the “career” aspect of government. Politicians have become ineffective, empty suits that go whichever way the party winds blow them.
Regardless of which party they belong to, the people are being kicked to the curb on a regular basis. While riots and violence are not the answer, there is a clear and definite need for the public to stand up for itself. The current state of US politics does not properly represent the sentiments of millions of Americans. As many Ukrainians felt it, a good portion of the American public is also aware of the growing disconnect with its leaders.
We Americans have always been a resilient people, proud to assert our rights and liberties in an attempt to show the meaning of freedom globally. We swear in leaders with the intention that they uphold the Constitution and the freedoms that all Americans are guaranteed to enjoy.
But with these freedoms comes responsibility – to ourselves. As citizens, it is up to us to check the power of our leaders. We alone have to ensure that we are heard.
So when it comes to big issues regarding foreign policy, trade and domestic policy, the government needs to be an extension of the public. It’s our tax dollars, our service men and women and our reputation abroad on the line – keeping our government on the right track is a must.
-Chris Benevento can be reached at [email protected].
