Gerrymandering is a problem, of course, and the Senate is built

Jonathan Capehart, speaking with the urgency of a watchman on the walls of democracy, warns that gerrymandering and the structure of the Senate create forces that bend the scales of power. These injustices may be real, and the field of battle may be uneven, yet he declares that the true strength of the people lies still in their voter participation. For though systems may be designed to disadvantage, the collective voice of citizens remains the one weapon that cannot be stolen unless they surrender it themselves.

The ancients knew that when power tilts unfairly, the people’s resolve becomes the deciding factor. In the days of the Roman Republic, when patricians sought to dominate, the plebeians withdrew to the Sacred Mount, refusing to fight in Rome’s wars until their voices were acknowledged. By their unity and persistence, they secured the office of the Tribune, a safeguard for the common people. So too does Capehart remind us that participation—unyielding, determined—is the key to overcoming imbalance.

History gives us a modern echo in the struggle for civil rights. In the American South, unjust laws and intimidation sought to silence Black voters. Yet through courage, marches, and relentless participation, men and women overcame those headwinds. The march from Selma to Montgomery, led by voices like John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr., demonstrated that even against rigged systems, the ballot—claimed with sacrifice—could transform a nation.

Capehart’s teaching is both sobering and empowering: though unfairness exists, lamentation alone avails nothing. To dwell on injustice without action is to concede defeat. But each act of participation, each ballot cast, is a defiance against forces that would mute the people’s will. Just as one drop of water may seem small, yet millions together carve valleys through stone, so does the collective vote shape the destiny of nations.

Let future generations remember: no system, however bent, can silence a people who refuse to abandon their power. Gerrymandering may twist districts, the Senate may tilt unfairly, but the voice of the citizen, multiplied in unity, is still the surest defense of liberty. To abstain is to surrender; to vote is to fight. And in that fight lies the hope of justice, not only for one party or one age, but for the enduring health of democracy itself.