Make a Difference Politically

When many of us think of being politically active, we focus on the federal level.  Our efforts are limited to voting wisely for federal government officials and then trying to influence those officials.  We give little, if any, thought to our local legislators.  However, we can do very little when it comes to the federal government.  Where we can make a difference is in our own cities.  And once we’ve influenced our cities, our cities can influence our counties, our counties can influence our states, and our states can sort out the mess in Washington.  This is the way the founding fathers set up the government.

The first and most important thing we can do to be more politically active is to study the philosophies of the founding fathers.  Their idea of the role of government is much different than the generally accepted ideas of today.  However, it was their philosophy that built a great country.  The Declaration of Independence, especially the list of self-evident truths, is the best place to start a study of governmental philosophy.  The actual writings of the founding fathers will also help you understand how they felt about government.

Once we’ve educated ourselves, there are so many things we can do to actually make a difference politically.  These things can be done on a small scale in our cities or on bigger scales on the county, state, and federal levels:

• Elect government officials based on their adherence to the principles set forth by the founding fathers.
• Check up on how our officials are voting to see if they are truly upholding these principles (see how they voted on bills or read the minutes of city council meetings.)
• Check the agendas of upcoming city council meetings or bills being legislated to see what issues are being decided.
• Write to our officials, call them, or otherwise make our opinion known to them.
• Write an editorial to our local newspaper or call in on talk shows to help others understand the issues.
• Attend city council meetings and make our voices heard.
• Start petitions to let our officials know that many people feel the same way you do.
• Run for office.

When we try to influence the federal level, we are often limited to doing little more than writing a letter and receiving a generic reply.  However, when we take action on the city level, not only can we personally meet and get to know our officials, we can feel the effects of our efforts more directly.  We can have the satisfaction of knowing we have truly made a difference in our communities and bettered the world around us.