Lace Up Your Shoes and Help in Pasadena!

Gathering signatures (Photo – Andrew Gould).

If you’re on social media, you’ve certainly experienced the “occasional outburst” – a post by a friend, a loved one, or yourself, as a means to vent and/or assert a point.

By the Editorial Board

As we all try to share thoughtful articles to enlighten and educate, the usual rants, mainly about current events, tend to creep through. Is this really the best way to change hearts and minds? It’s important to “keep calm” (to borrow from an internet meme) and focus on the big(ger) picture.

There’s no shortage of social issues to gripe about: from homelessness, gentrification and rent increases all the way to bigotry and racism woven into the fabric of our society, locally and globally.

There’s also no shortage of issues that we can get behind, offer help, and make a visible difference. “How can ‘I’ make a difference in the midst of all life’s challenges and problems, monetary and otherwise, bombarding ‘ME’ every day,” you ask? Where would I find the time to do that? We understand and sympathize. We can only offer one solution.

Pick one subject dear to your heart. Don’t just gripe online. Actually do something to help alleviate the pressure of those who are already on the front-line fighting the fight every day. One hour of your time spent on organizing and helping is well spent and more rewarding –and far more beneficial– than spending hours on Facebook complaining and raising a fit (and your blood pressure).

Sometimes a single signature can make all the difference in the world.

A few days ago, attorney Dennis P. Block, an eviction attorney, spoke at the Pasadena Convention Center, as part of the Income Property Expo. If you’re not familiar with Block, here’s a sample of his tweets:

- “A client just told me that the best time for a tenant to be
evicted, is when it is raining.”

- “I have been urging landlords to raise rents and evict troublesome
tenants. Pasadena property owners, please take notice!”

If that raises your level of concern and makes you want to do something, Pasadena Tenants Union is asking for volunteers in their signature gathering effort to place a rent control ordinance on the ballot.

If you can’t volunteer your time, get your name and email registered with them, and make sure your vote counts when the time comes. Rent Control is just one example of many ways you can help in this world. We can list many worthy causes that we can all get behind. But who has the time? But you sure can rally behind one cause and help. Small incremental steps make the journey shorter. Sign a petition, donate your time to gather signatures, and if nothing else, donate money. Those who are on the front-line will know their efforts are being appreciated and be better able to continue the fight on our behalf. And when election time comes, we can make the extra effort to vote.

The best way to make our voice loud and clear is through a ballot box.

In his farewell address, President Obama called on the nation’s young and “young at heart” to do the following:

If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing.

He went on to urge citizens disappointed by their elected officials to “grab a clip board, get some signatures, and run for office yourself.”

Or…help the right one do it.

> Find out how you can help: