Serve the People (2 of 3)

Where do all the taxes, dues, and money we pay out go? WHY DO THESE SHAMEFUL THINGS CONTINUE TO EXIST?

In a "democracy", the government is supposed to serve the daily needs of the people. That's what they tell us in social studies, and that's why the officials are called "public SERVANTS". But the conditions in Chinatown and the lack of even the most minimal public services tell us that as far as we Asian-Americans (Chinese, Japanese, etc) are concerned, the government does, not serve us well. (if it did, there would be clean streets without any trash or garbage, there would be up-to-date comfortable apartments with modern facilities for everyone, all the young people would have decent, dignified jobs, etc.) As far as we know from the conditions in our neighborhood, the goverment exists, not to serve us, but to serve the needs of some big-shots living in rich, White Suburbs. And as for the so-called "public SERVANTS", we know from our own experience that the only time they give a damn about the people in Chinatown is during the election period when they want us to vote for them. Public servants? These rich, white politicians? It must be a big joke!

It is not by mistake that these miserable conditions exist, not only in the New York Chinatown, but in Chinatowns across the country. To put it very frankly, these white politicians care only about themselves and their own kind (other well-off whites). They are so "superior" that they can't be bothered with the daily needs of us "Orientals" (or any other non-Whites). We Asian-American people are patient and don't complain too often or too loud. So these selfish politicians and the government take us for granted, and so far they have gotten away with a whole lot.

What is do be done? It's not simply a question of becoming "better informed", writing letters to the crooked or apathetic White politicians, or of getting more Chinese people to register and vote in elections. Those elections are rigged and phoney. anyway, so why bother? It takes a lot more than just becoming "interested" or "involved" to really change things.

The long history of the Asian people, and the experience of the black and brown (Puerto Rican and Mexican) peoples here in this country shows us the Way. The most important lesson of our own history and of these peoples is that nothing good, nothing really important happens unless the common, ordinary people themselves make it happen. We cannot expect basic improvements in our lives and in our community unless we have some POWER and use it to get the government to make the necessary improvements and/or to do what is necessary ourselves. For us- in the Chinatown, it means that what we really need is Chinese or YELLOW POWER!

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