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Hello activist friends, non-activist friends and just plain concerned people!
As we all need to hear the hope and messages of empowerment during these dark times in our country’s history, here are a few ideas about how we each can make a difference.
Far from offering a complete list of ideas (I don’t know it all, but am just thinking out loud) I want to make this an open-ended forum of sorts: Please add your own ideas to the list by responding to this message! The great melting pot is where it’s at, and that’s where the solution is. So please feel free to chip in with your own pro-active ideas!
Here a few thoughts, just to get the list started:
Spread word:
A) Contribute underground news books, dvd’s, cd’s, etc to your local library
B) Write letters to the editor. Afraid you won’t be published? Host a letters-to-the-editor party in your home or church/synagogue, perhaps with a writer present, in which people may elect to read their letters out loud to get group feedback. Tada! You’ve got an edited letter and you know how it will come across to the public, judging by the reaction of the group. And it’s uplifting to network with other concerned souls, besides!
C) Widely share independent media (send e-mails, post to blogs, etc)
D) Fill in the blanks…ideas? Please post them below!
Call for action:
A) Write to grassroots organization leaders, offering your ideas and concerns. You can do this by looking up the contact info on the websites you are interested in. Or, do a google search.
B) Preaching to the choir works! You get a wave of like-minded people going, then the wave grows, and finally it gains power. Then word spreads. Last of all, people you wanted to recruit may finally be convinced. Start with your own constituent base first! Send out emails to like-minded friends (don’t turn anybody off, that’s the last thing you want for the sake of yourself and the movement!) and ask them to forward them. The power of the internet is exponential!
C) Organize parties in your home or church/synagogue for writing to your Congresspeople. Or, just write to them yourself and spread word via the Internet:
D) Post to blogs, send e-mails, call in to radio talk shows, etc asking for partnership in action
E) Fill in the blanks…..
Work to assure a better Congress for America: An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure!
A) During any Candidate’s bid for office, check out who their financial backers are, to determine any likely political bias. Check their Congressional voting record or other background. Then, write this information in letters to the editor, post it to blogs, write it to grassroots organization leaders and ask them to e-mail their constituents, and word will spread!
B) Measure twice, cut once: Ask the public to research any Candidate’s financial backings and voting record prior to voting. Do this in letters to the editor, by writing grassroots organization leaders urging them to email their constituents with the request that they, in turn, also write letters to the editor/post to blogs, with the aim of getting the public to think about this centrally important matter.
C) Work with grassroots organization leaders to organize a boycott of financial corporations “Buying” any Candidate. The message to the Candidate and the corporations alike, by hitting them where it counts (the pocketbook) will be loud and clear!
D) Work for campaign finance reform
E) Join a citizen’s election watchdog group
F) Fill in the blanks….
Tip the scales in a healthy direction:
A) Show up to open meetings of any grassroots organization Board. Lift up your voice to these people who have power and outreach, in person.
B) Offer your skills and interests to any Board and maybe you will find yourself elected to that Board.
C) Cross-infiltrate any infiltrated boards: Fight back! Bring a group of like-minded friends with you to attend any open meetings together, and one-by-one, gently and gradually to avoid overwhelming them, offer each of your skills and join their Board, as a group. Majority rules!
D) Fill in the blanks…
Talk to the public mind:
A fabulous activist pointed out to me that the effective way to motivate is to identify and rebut publicly-held beliefs. S/he pointed out that assumptions are what fuel people's action or inaction: To identify the assumptions, and to rebut them, is key. Rebuttals might be most effective not when stated, but when asked in question format, to get people thinking. (People are inclined to bristle up in reaction to statements, especially strong ones. But when they come up with a conclusion for themselves, they may be more inclined to believe in it. That's why asking thought-provoking questions works best). You can do this in letters to the editor, on radio talk shows, on blogs, etc.
Here are a few sample mainstream beliefs held, to be identified, rebutted and based on which to stimulate thought and questioning in the public mind: Please add to this list! This could be fascinating!
A) "It will never happen to me/you"
B) "Just let them wiretap me: I've done nothing wrong, so I've got nothing to hide"
C) "It is my constitutional duty to turn you in for flag burning"
D) Ideas for how we can help people to "connect the dots" ? Example: An oil man paired with the head of Haliburton, who went to war based on a lie, would NOT be capable of planning 9-11?? Where's the logic in that? How do we get people to connect the dots when emotional content is so strong that people bristle up against it? Denial shields us from emotional pain, and can be difficult to break through. I'd love your experienced, well-thought out/researched ideas (please don't spout, because this is really important!)
E) "They're only after terrorists. They wouldn't ever go after ordinary citizens"
F) "Paranoia!" (Who would ever have thought the Nazi concentration camps were happening? And yet they did. In fact, the German government just opened up one facility alone, containing 16 miles of shelving required to hold 52 million pages of Concentration Camp documents. That's what denial can do for you/us! ALL people are capable of light and dark: Denial forgets this fact).
G) "So-and-so is doing such-and-such, therefore you/I/we don't need to do anything". (Don't those people/organizations need support?)
H) Fill in the blanks.....
Thank you! This will be very interesting to read about! I'd love your ideas and input! Thanks again!
