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mangosteenObservation: Sure, it's "one person, one vote". On the other hand, you'd be surprised by how much you can multiply that force by just talking to people and making sure they care.
There's a particular bill that's going to the floor of the US House of Representatives tomorrow morning. It's a textbook example of a bill that is Really Bad, except for stockholders of a small handful of companies that the bill benefits. I'm violently opposed to it.
Normally, I'm politically apathetic. "Political", in this case, means "participating in the political process". Preaching to one's peers usually doesn't count, and I know I've done that countless times. I actually got the motivation to call my congresscritter's office and express my dissatisfaction with the bill in polite but certain terms. I felt empowered. It was awfully nice. So, to share the joy, I told five other friends, and each of them called their respective representatives, made their opposition to the bill clear, and hung up.
To tally it up, that's one person (me) who got five other people (them) to express their opinion about the bill to their representatives. Their opinion was the same as my opinion, and they likely would have not expressed an opinion had I not brought it to their attention.
Effectively, that means that I got six constituents worth of political opinion, instead of just one. That was pretty cool. I think I have a small clue as to why grassroots politics is so attractive. It's a way for an individual or small group of people to accumulate more voting influence. The feeling that one can actually change the society one lives in is a very powerful thing. It's not about control per se. I have no illusions about having that control over anyone. It is, however, about getting the government you deserve, and controlling one's fate by increasing the influence that's brought to bear.
I'm still mostly politically apathetic, but I'm a little more motivated now.
There's a particular bill that's going to the floor of the US House of Representatives tomorrow morning. It's a textbook example of a bill that is Really Bad, except for stockholders of a small handful of companies that the bill benefits. I'm violently opposed to it.
Normally, I'm politically apathetic. "Political", in this case, means "participating in the political process". Preaching to one's peers usually doesn't count, and I know I've done that countless times. I actually got the motivation to call my congresscritter's office and express my dissatisfaction with the bill in polite but certain terms. I felt empowered. It was awfully nice. So, to share the joy, I told five other friends, and each of them called their respective representatives, made their opposition to the bill clear, and hung up.
To tally it up, that's one person (me) who got five other people (them) to express their opinion about the bill to their representatives. Their opinion was the same as my opinion, and they likely would have not expressed an opinion had I not brought it to their attention.
Effectively, that means that I got six constituents worth of political opinion, instead of just one. That was pretty cool. I think I have a small clue as to why grassroots politics is so attractive. It's a way for an individual or small group of people to accumulate more voting influence. The feeling that one can actually change the society one lives in is a very powerful thing. It's not about control per se. I have no illusions about having that control over anyone. It is, however, about getting the government you deserve, and controlling one's fate by increasing the influence that's brought to bear.
I'm still mostly politically apathetic, but I'm a little more motivated now.
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say...
Date: 2002-02-27 09:30 am (UTC)Re: say...
Date: 2002-02-28 07:09 am (UTC)The bill passed by a count of 273 for, 157 against, and 4 not voting.
A good explanation of the issues can be found at opensecrets.org
I'd recommend opensecrets.org on general principle, anyway. It's a great site for "folllowing the money". Fortunately, this beast is not expected to pass the Senate.