james potter (deeringdo) wrote in the100, @ 2015-06-13 12:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | !network post, hermione granger, james potter, remus lupin, sirius black |
Alright, here we go. Let's talk about this council business. I'd like to make this short and sweet, but there's a lot to talk about, so bear with me.
What is a council person's job? It's not to feed, clothe, or fight to defend their people — though they might do those things, too. A council person is a leader, and a leader's job is not to do one particular thing. It is to tie multiple things together, bring people together, make a community into a team, oversee everything and solve problems to keep things running smoothly. To do that, sure, they've got to listen to everyone, make sure every voice is heard; sometimes you want to be warm and fuzzy, sometimes you've gotta be ruthless and make the tough calls, but the real trick is being able to do both, to be one or the other, depending on what the situation calls for. In order to do all that you've got to pay attention to everything, the little things and the big picture — because even the smallest weakness can bring down a strong organization and have consequences for the entire world. Believe me, I learned that the hard way.
So let me tell you what I see here. There's our community of so-called 'Pod People' — we've gotta get a better name for ourselves, don't we? — and even that community is divided into people from different worlds, and there are even smaller lines drawn among people from their own worlds. There are people with different beliefs, coming from different walks of life, even coming from different species, even though we all act like people. And then there's the Sky People, who were here before we started falling out of the sky, but who also came down from space a while ago, a generation that inherited this world after a big war a while ago and are fighting to try to survive here. Then there are the Grounders, generations of people who managed to survive the war without escaping into the sky, who've formed their own cultures and probably know this land better than any of us. A representative of the Pod People should still take the interests and rights of all those other communities into account when making decisions for their own.
Some of us who came from the Pods remember a world that was more united in some ways, though still divided in others. Divided into continents, countries, cities, states, political parties, different schools, different cultures and races and species, too. We've got that on a smaller scale here, but I care about that big picture, about what's best for this world's humanity as a whole. Humanity's not going to do well if we turn this into us against them, whether that's us in Mount Weather against the Grounders, or the Sky People vs. the Pod People, or rivalries between or within our different worlds. Our interests are important but we don't get to take what we want at the cost of cutting someone else's throat (literally or metaphorically) or leaving them to survive the threats of the wilderness. Sure, sometimes there will be conflicts, without a doubt. But there are other ways of solving them.
If elected as council member, I promise to take all of these different levels into account. I will make the tough calls and work hard to clean up the worst of the messes that we get ourselves into. I will represent the interests of the 'Pod People' and help our community find a place in this world without edging anyone else out, but instead trying to find a positive give and take, where we continue to do our part and to help out the people who've accepted us and ensure that we have the rights we deserve and the necessities we need to live. I will make sure that everyone has an equal say and an chance at the small luxuries we get to have here, and try to make this place function more smoothly so that more of those luxuries become available. I'll work to ensure the guards and soldiers are coordinated and supplied well enough to make this mountain feel safe, that the farmers and hunters have every possible resource we can provide them with to start making the foods we've all been missing from home, and I'll make sure that no one is ever made to feel like a prisoner within their own home, nor a slave forced to work so hard or while sick or in an unhealthy, unhappy situation.
I will be the one to give you the shirt off my own back if you need it more than I do, or conjure you fresh water or shelter from my wand. I will congratulate you on your accomplishments, or make decisions with mercy and compassion when handing out necessary punishments. I will be the joke and the smile and the friend during the hard times, the light in the darkness, or the serious, sympathetic listener when you come to me with a problem. I'll be the the rallying cry to drive you to fight hard, whether it's in Capture the Flag or an actual battle, and I will be right there fighting with you. I have the energy, the heart, and the tenacity to defend, to push, to fight for any person or any important issue. I also have the open mind and ability to swallow any ego or pride long enough to hear opposing arguments and acknowledge that, despite my excellent track record, I am not always one hundred percent in the right. But I have to say, I am right a lot of the time. It's just that there are much more important things than being right, because this isn't about me. It's about all of us.
I'm proud to run with Neville Longbottom, the next generation of wizarding warriors that ended the fight against Voldemort and helped to rebuild the wizarding world. Vote for us, or at the very least, make sure that your choice for council member is someone you trust to have not only your best interests, but everyone's best interests, and humanity's best interests, at heart. We may only be in a small corner of the world, but we are the inheritors of this Earth and it is our job to think big, even if we have to start small. And even when we go big, the smallest and subtlest of people and issues must still be taken into account.