To give up or to keep fighting? That is the question for the populace unhappy with the way things are transpiring in the nation in general, and in Greater Johnstown specifically.
My brother, a recent convert to the voting world, is about to give up already due to a feeling it really doesn’t matter. There are many like him, those thinking the system is set up to ignore the wants and needs of the common people and instead follow the lead of the elites who seem to control it all.
Others keep fighting the uphill battle, and for that they deserve some praise.
Two of these men, John DeBartola and Joseph Taranto, were in my neighborhood Saturday collecting signatures on a petition to secure a place on the ballot for elected office (I will allow you to contemplate which one).
You may have heard of these two in connection with their Revitalize Johnstown efforts, with a huge Facebook presence. Think of them as Batman and Robin for the underserved.
It was the Gotham City establishment that requested help from Batman and Robin of comic book fame. DeBartola and Taranto, our two “Capped Crusaders,” each of whom wore a knit pullover cap while on their search for signatures today, instead are hated by those in control.
The main reason for that is DeBartola and Taranto look to hold accountable all people in a position of power. They wield freedom of information requests like a skilled surgeon uses a scalpel.
They attend meetings. They ask difficult questions. They are more than willing to speak out publicly when things are just not right.
As I told both of them today, they are doing the public service job that the media used to perform, but for some reason — both nationally and locally — no longer has the stomach to do.
Just the past week it appears the noise they raised over unhealthy conditions in Johnstown public housing led to complaints being addressed.
They are equal opportunity in that if someone approaches them with a problem – a legitimate complaint – they will attempt to help.
DeBartola has become a go-to-source to publicize violence in the Greater Johnstown School District, being provided videos of the many altercations and posting them online.
They are critics of our nonprofit culture in Johnstown and how that has become a private club of sorts for the movers and shakers, often with excessive salaries paid.
Because these two are so high-profile, they are being deluged with tips of wrongdoings around the area. Some they can address. Some they cannot.
But the most important thing is that instead of sitting in their living rooms in front of a television set, or lamenting life while nursing a beer at the local bar, they are actively trying to do something.
Their candidacies have and will be opposed by the ruling class. They will be mammoth underdogs in any political race they enter.
They realize this. They are not naive. But they are fighting the good fight, a noteworthy thing in troubled times.
Sam Ross Jr's site 