This is it, the end … well, for me anyway. This will be my last week writing Metro’s In Transit column.
Why am I leaving? The short version is I am running for Edmonton city council in the newly created Ward 7.
It only seems appropriate that I leave you with a rant on the importance of advocacy. It’s something we all can and should be doing — advocating for a better world, whatever that may look like. Whenever I go out to speak about the work I’ve done, there are three points I like to emphasize.
The first is, if there is an issue that concerns you, chances are you’re not the only one — there are inevitably other people who are concerned or angry about the same issue.
The second point is — there is strength in numbers. We’ve already established that you’re probably not alone in your concerns, now you just have to find the people who share them.
The final point? At the risk of sounding cliché; you can change the world. Get engaged and stand up for what you believe in. Even though it might seem like you’re just a drop in the bucket, with enough drops, a bucket fills up pretty quickly.
The Transit Riders’ Union of Edmonton (TRUE) is a great example of advocacy in action — it has, in its 21/2-year history, strived to provide a unified voice for transit riders, including presenting on numerous occasions to city council and, my favourite, challenging city councillors to rely on transit during Transit Challenge Week in November, to give them a first-hand view of the ups and downs of the transit system.
My final thought? Get involved! If transit is your big issue, contact TRUE (true.apirg.org) to find out how you can get involved. If transit isn’t your big issue, that’s cool, too — just do me one favour; if something is not right in the world, get involved and change it.
