5 Reasons Why You Should Meet Your Elected Officials Face-to-Face
We are well past the era of ‘thoughts, prayers and Facebook shares’.
The long hallways leading you to crucial conversations with your elected officials. Get your steps in, invest in a map!
We’ve reached a social boiling point where inflammatory internet comments are getting zero things done besides isolating community, friend and family groups. Political sides are digging into advantageous political ideologies that boost careers and campaign funding, not the wellbeing of ALL constituents.
As someone who gives a damn, this is not okay with you. So let me posit a scary-sounding but powerful action to counter that disgusted feeling in your stomach when what you believe in is being challenged and stomped on: go visit your state Capitol and/or local representatives offices.
Why should you walk up those Capitol steps to share your feelings as a constituent?
Engaging in face-to-face conversation with legislators (and/or staff) forces you to truly educate yourself on the nuances of issues and legislation that you find concerning. It will also inform you about other actions that are being taken around an issue you care about that you may not have heard about yet and give you an in-person opportunity to find and address any gaps in knowledge.
Your physical presence is a BIG deal. It’s shocking how many legislators’ offices said ‘they had no idea folks were upset about XXX, because no one ever came and told us’. Your representatives and congressman are not watching your witty Twitter feed or Facebook wall.
Demystify the legislative process. Politics can feel so impersonal and impossible because we typically only watch the outcomes pontificated to us on TV and newspaper covers. In reality, it’s a human system full of humans making human mistakes and feeding human ambitions. Let’s get to know those humans and maybe (maybe????) become one of them ourselves. The first step is showing up and making some direct eye contact.
Quick Summary:
As a constituent, you have access to your legislators and can/SHOULD speak to them directly.
Face-to-face conversation is rich with opportunity to find knowledge gaps and to humanize an issue.
This is scary as shit for most people (like me!), which means not that many people do it. Do the thing no one else is doing, it’s noticeable and memorable.
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