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Political Action CornerOn August 15, 1811, Joseph DeMaistre said, "Every country has the government it deserves." This was never truer than it is today
with all the changes and Instead of just grousing about the government, why don't we do something. It doesn't matter whether or not we agree, it does matter that we stand up for what we believe and take the initiative to let our elected officials know that we want accountability at each level of government. It may be easier to grouse, but if we haven't done our part, we we have no grounds and we will end up with the government we deserve. Today with computers, it is easier than ever
to be active politically. First, get the email
addresses of all of your state and Federal senators and
representatives and enter them in your address books.
Then, when you read something in the paper or see something
on television that you care about, email the appropriate
people and let them know your feelings about the
issue. You don't have to be an
If you want to be more formal, use your word processing and set up a standard letter addressed to your various governmental representatives. Again, show the subject and bill number, be concise and use the appropriate salutation. State your feelings and the reasons for them. Print out the letter and mail it. You may be asking yourself if it makes a difference or is worth the effort. In discussing this with my own elected officials, I have been told they pay a lot of attention to any letters or emails they get, especially if they are done individually and not a form letter. One letter from you could represent the thinking of 100 people in your sphere of influence. Imagine if you and you and you each expressed your views and then got a friend or relative to do the same and they also got another person, etc. We elect these senators and representatives to represent us but how can they if they don't know what we are thinking. Our government is a constitutional republic but it is changing because we have bailed out. We don't do our part and then we complain about how things are being done. It comes back to us. If you are holding back because you are not sure how to go about writing to either your U.S. Senator or Representative, I have listed the following: The suggested address style for a United States Representative is: The Honorable ...... .......... United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 02515 Dear Representative ........: For United States Senators, the following is the suggested address style: The Honorable ........ ............. United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator ..............: Your U.S. Senator and Representative will also have a local office somewhere in your vicinity so check out telephone books and internet sites. Most of them can also be contacted by e-mail at either of the following: www.senate.gov
or www.house.gov
You can search by name, state, committee or zip code.
Most members have an e-mail set up for you to write
them. Take advantage of it. You can use a similar format to contact your state and local government officials. Challenge: find some cause you feel strongly about and become knowledgeable about it. Contact your representatives regularly about anything that comes up relating to that interest. Let them know you are watching their actions. Start locally, there are always local issues that you can impact. Learn about the issue, be sure of your facts and then take action. Our government is unique in that it requires the ongoing, active participation of its citizens. Get involved and become connected to something bigger than yourself. Take back your power and make a difference. Locally, you can pass petitions, make phone calls, write letters and emails, write letters to the editor of local newspapers. Don't underestimate the power of a printed well-written letter to your local or regional newspaper. You would probably be surprised at the number of other people who agree with you. You can give them a voice and maybe inspire them to also do something.
To find out more about politics, I have added some other web sites that might give you some interesting information, such as who contributes to which compaign, etc. and some information on how to get involved. www.politics.com www.opensecrets.org www.grassroots.com www.ncpssm.org www.democrats.org www.rnc.org www.aarp.org (click on legislation & elections) Don't forget, you can e-mail your Federal and State Senators and Representatives in most instances. You will have to check locally to get their local information, otherwise, email them at the following sites.
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Aging
Concepts |
technology that we are being faced
with. Each election, it seems that fewer and fewer
people make the effort to vote. The last election in
essence was decided by the Supreme Court. Each year
people feel more and more alienated and
disenfranchised. It has never been more important for
each and every citizen to take and active role and speak out
on issues that conceren him or her.
expert on the subject,
just briefly express your feelings and the reasoning behind
them. Keep your email short, respectful and
timely. If a bill is involved, show the bill number
and the subject. The subject is important because many
senators and representatives may not recognize a bill only
by its number.