Donald J. Trump, would be criminal mastermind, racist, misogynist, authoritarian, and one of the worst human beings to ever walk this Earth is no longer President of the United States of America. With luck, he will never hold public office again, whether it is because he is in jail or because the Senate votes to deny him the right to do so.
While the changing of the guard to Joseph R. Biden is a significant improvement, there is much work our government needs to do in order to improve America. Equal rights and protections for all, election security, voting rights, reuniting immigrant families, improving immigration laws and procedures, and, of course, the pandemic are just a few of the items on that list of work.
What I hope to continue to see is an awakening and awareness of the need for the citizens of this country to take an active role in their government. We like to say that members of the government at all levels serve at the consent of the governed. We have lifted our voices over the years to remind our government of that fact and must continue to do so.
This leads to one of my goals for 2021. In order to take a more active role in the direction my country travels, I intend to call and write my representatives about what I feel are the key issues which we need to address as a country. Fortunately, there are excellent tools I can use to ensure I know what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to.
The first tool I will use is a service called 5 Calls. This service, started by a husband and wife team, is a non-profit run by volunteers with a goal of making advocacy accessible. 5 Calls researches current issues, creates call scripts, and, based on your location, gives you the phone numbers for the representatives in the House and/or Senate you need to call regarding that issue. This is especially useful on a smartphone or tablet as a single tap on the phone number sets the call in motion. Once your call is complete, you mark down the result (got voicemail, talked to a staff person, etc.). This helps 5 Calls determine which politicians are listening and where to focus influence for each issue. 5 Calls is free and is available for iOS, Android, and the web.
The second tool I will use is a service called Resistbot. Where 5 Calls handles calling your representatives, Resistbot takes care of the letter writing side of your advocacy. Using simple text messaging, as well as iMessage, Twitter, Facebook Messenger, or Telegram, I can send my representatives my thoughts on the issues which concern me. Resistbot will then convert my message into a letter and send it to some or all of my representatives. I’ve even used the script text from 5 Calls as the form of the letter to ensure my wording is clear, concise, and consistent. Resistbot is also free and a non-profit service, though they do ask for donations to keep things running.
Do you reach out to your representatives? What issues do you contact them about? Are you planning on doing other political actions, such as attending town hall meetings, protests, or even running for office yourself? Let us know in the comments below.
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