Regardless of our differences in political point of view, many of us can agree on at least one thing, namely that the exploding role of money in campaign financing is corrupting our political system and that, as a result, our government is no longer able to effectively address the many pressing issues facing our country. Earlier we may have asked, “Has our government lost its ability to govern?” Today, we are now asking, “What can ordinary citizens do about it?”

If that last question is one that you’ve asked yourself, one that perhaps has troubled you, then take note that there is actually a growing network of people who, like yourself, are not only asking that very same question, but even more importantly, are developing realistic answers to that question.

Two answers to that question, however, were rejected out of hand. The first was “It’s too big a problem,” and the second was, “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Instead, those answers were replaced with two others. One: “The fact that the problem is challenging is irrelevant.” And two: “Throughout our country’s history many political achievements have occurred as a result of grass root efforts.” (Think ending Jim Crow laws, achieving women’s voting rights, and even the birth of the Tea Party.)

From that mindset has grown a list of meaningful, realistic steps which ordinary citizens can in fact undertake, steps which are now being increasingly shared with other concerned citizens around the country.

If you count yourself as among those who believe that the unchecked influence of money in campaign financing has gravely flawed our political system, and that it is the corrupted political system itself which lies at the very root of our government’s inability to govern, then you may wish to add your voice to the growing list of voices who not only share that belief, but who also believe that regardless of our individual politics, whether Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, it is crucial that we come together as “we the people, Americans all” to reform the system...

*This letter was originally published in the Charleston Post and Courier, submitted by David Brown of South Carolina Rootstrikers. To learn more about what other ordinary citizens, or Rootstrikers, are doing, check out www.rootstrikers.org/meetups.