Our Grass Roots
My name is Russ Vitt and I am the managing director of The Peoples White House.
I have been able to vote since I was 18. I don’t remember who it was. Seems like I always listen to the advertising, watched the debate, complain about the choices and life went on, no big deal.
I must admit, I have been one of the lucky ones. I’m a successful white male, rarely asking for help but lucky enough to get it when it was needed. I saw the problems, heard the stories, laughed at George Carlin, Jon Stewart, Bill Mayer and others talking about the owners of this country but it never called me to action.
In the spring of 2016, I saw Bernie Sanders on the screen and he was speaking directly to me so I got involved. I had purchased a building near my home as an investment. We used it as our meeting place during the primary. We called it the Big White House on Beach at Bellevue to help folks find it. Then someone suggested we call it The People’s White House as it has an uncanny resemblance to the one in DC. Asked what we do there, I started saying, “It’s politics with common sense”. Everyone got it! Left right and middle, Floridians smiled. It was refreshing.
In our early stages of political awakening, Vice news did a story on us - "Bikers for Bernie". Clearly Bernie was the best candidate, true blue, caring, compassionate, honest, real and totally electable. Had some been able to see past the Socialist and Free Stuff stigma, Bernie Sanders the common sense candidate, the obvious best choice would have been elected. He would have made a great President. He is still a great man, most liked Senator, someone I have trusted from day one. He didn’t follow through with his promise to take our fight to the Democratic National Convention and I was frustrated with that. We made a video in August "What Is The People's White House" but the driving force I had felt was over.
While the election was a surprise it wasn’t as devastating to me as others. Big picture, as long as we don’t start something we can’t stop, Mr. Trump has relit the energy in many and the potential to push this energy in a positive direction is encouraging.
It’s not that we just need to vote every two years, which we must, but we have to get involved in our world. That doesn’t mean liking a friends post or re-tweeting a news story. It means one of two things. Getting involved yourself or funding an organization to do your part.
We’ve been complacent way too long and allowed people who shouldn’t even be representing us to make our rules. Then we’re surprised when they’ve been taking money for years from big business for favorable legislation. These people may have had great intensions but any system that is not properly monitored will eventually fail and ours has failed some time ago.
Beyond the BS, we all want the same things. Good jobs, reasonable taxes, freedom of choice, freedom of speech, a responsible police and military, clean air and water, access to health care, low cost high quality education, an immigration policy that works, a fair and unbiased legal system, decriminalize pot, equal rights and opportunities, the list is really quite long. We can still have all these things but we have to get involved.
Join me today in forming the solution. The People’s White House is a real place here in Daytona Beach Florida but it’s just a building. We have to fill it with good intentioned people and ideas. It is an organization designed to inspire civic engagement, encourage collaborative development and produce common sense solutions. Join us and become part of the solution.
