::::::::

Ok, I'm pulling your leg to get your attention. Or maybe I'm not, if you consider just how much rides on the upcoming elections. If you're not going to get out and vote, then, in my humble opinion, you may as well do those things now and get it over with, rather than suffer a dragging agony.

I'm writing in response to Paul Rogat Loeb's recent article at OpEdNews, "Foley's Meltdown-The Seductions of Clicking," and to Rob Kall's comment at the end. I believe this was an extremely critical topic that deserves a bit more attention. Also, I have another take on the matter, which may well effect the rest of your life-literally.

The point of Paul's article I came away with was that it's important to stop clicking that mouse, get off our duffs and go do some phone calling, as advocated for example by MoveOn.org, or get out in our neighborhoods spreading the word or helping to monitor at the polls. If we sit around gloating at the GOP's implosion, we're wasting our time in this ever-so critical election.

I have nothing against what Paul advocates, and I say, "Go for it!" if you're so inclined. I tell you I've done my share of those things and I surely don't want to discourage anyone from making a bunch of phone calls if that's what they're good at.

But please DO NOT stop clicking that mouse! I want you to click it like you've never done before, and I'm going to tell you why.

A hundred years or so ago, I heard there was a group running around the campus of the University of Utah trying to collect signatures to get biologist Barry Commoner on the ballot for presidential candidate. Having read some of Barry's work, I wanted to help by writing an article for The Daily Chronicle, the school's student newspaper. So I ran around the campus myself trying to find the head honcho behind all this, to get more information.

I found him somewhere and told him what I planned to do and could he give me more information, such as where people could sign that petition? This elderly gentleman promptly chewed my ass out, and condemned me for not running around the campus like he and his cadres were doing, then stormed off, petitions in hand.

I wrote the article anyway, and the Chronicle published it.

Two weeks later there was a knock on my door. I opened it and there was that guy who'd chewed me out, who had somehow found out where I lived. I invited him in. "I came to apologize," he said. "After your article was printed, people were coming to our booth in droves. It accomplished far more than I ever thought possible, and spared us a whole lot of walking."

As I said, do go walk and talk if you're so inclined. But before you do, and especially if you don't, consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper, encouraging folks to get out and vote if they're unhappy with how things are going. If you live near a college, get a letter into that student newspaper, asap. Letters to the editor reach huge amounts of people, and many people read those things before anything else.

That said, I very well understand if you're still disinclined. Not everyone feels comfortable knocking on doors, calling strangers, or writing letters to the editor. I hate knocking on doors and calling strangers myself, and I've done enough to know. But I now bring some excellent news for the mouse clickers amongst us!

Recent research in presidential elections came up with a truckload of facts, which I've cut and pasted and tried to squish in a nutshell:

- After controlling for personal attitudes and demographic membership, researchers found social networks that voters are embedded in, which exert powerful influences on their voting behavior.

- We do not merely act on information we receive directly from the media. We get new information, interpretation, re-interpretation and influence via our social networks.

- Often, those eligible to vote, do not register, or are registered and choose not to vote. A common excuse given is that a single vote does not count for much. We saw in the 2000 presidential election how the tipping point of the whole national outcome was determined by a few hundred local votes. The power of a single vote has never been so obvious.

- Voter turnout is highly correlated among family, friends, and co-workers. If those in your social network vote, and make that known, then there is a much higher probability that you will vote also. We are all influenced by those who we view as similar to us.

- Trends in groups often start with one or a few persons taking a stand. Expressing your intent on
voting in your network is one way to get other network members to the voting booth. One can increase voter participation by announcing plans to vote. One must do this in a community that is predisposed to your candidate.

- Researchers investigated the effect of a single person's decision to vote. The person's influence spread throughout their local cluster. People were 15 percent more likely to vote if one of their political discussants made clear their intentions to vote.

- Within the research population, a citizen would positively affect the turnout decision of up to four other people. The researchers called this a "turnout cascade". In addition, the increased turnout was found to favor the candidate of the initiator. Human clusters tend to contain similar preferences for candidates and issues, thus an increase in participation was equivalent to an increase in between two and three votes for the candidate.

- Building connections to undecided voters and those who support your view are key battlegrounds in elections.

- If you are well integrated in your neighborhood, and are known for providing useful advice to neighbors then consider talking to them about your candidate. Also put out a yard sign supporting your candidate, and suggest others do so.

- Unless they are public figures, strangers do not influence. Instead of having strangers call
voters, or knock on doors, the campaign should find well-connected supporters and have them go out into their clusters [workplaces, places of worship, neighborhoods, sports leagues, etc.] building support for the candidate. Bringing in masses of campaign workers, who are strangers, to contact local voters may cause more harm than good.

- This may have been part of the cause in the collapse of the 2004 Dean campaign in Iowa. The Dean campaign had a strategy called the Dean Storm - they would fly in people from across the country who they had recruited on the Internet. These outsiders would then go out into the public to persuade caucus participants.

- The Kerry campaign had a more successful strategy, and an apparently better understanding of social networks. The Kerry campaign connected to local politicians who had already build local influence networks over the years. The Kerry people had friends, neighbors, and co-workers influencing each other, and a surprising victory.

The preceding paragraphs come from Chapter Nine of book called Extreme Democracy, by Valdis Krebs. The chapter is appropriately titled, "It's the conversations, stupid! The link between social interaction and political choice." This chapter is well worth reading, or at least skimming (it gets gnarly in some places, but you'll easily get the main ideas): http://www.extremedemocracy.com/chapters/Chapter%20Nine-Krebs.pdf

And here's a link to a bio of Valdis Krebs, which speaks for itself: http://www.orgnet.com/VKbio.html

May we now combine the preceding with a dose of common sense (apologies to any scientists reading this). What is the greatest factor that determines whether a high-schooler goes to college? What's the greatest factor determining whether a teenager will smoke or get into drugs? Have sex early? Work on computers? Get a job? C'mon, you were a teenager--don't pretend you don't know! It's the network of friends, which according to the rather amazing work of Mr. Krebs, is the very same factor weighing on whether people will vote, and often who they'll vote for.

I trust that you mouse clickers are beginning to see light here. We need to get to that group who might not vote for one reason or another, even though they are predisposed in the proper political direction. Consider the effect of the following email on your own network of friends, who you're fairly certain will vote correctly, if they actually get out to vote (or its effect on a friend who may somehow be undecided):

"Hey old friend, or new... just a gentle reminder to suggest setting aside some time for the upcoming election. I confess I've missed a few elections myself, for being preoccupied or unable to imagine what difference my vote would make. But I promise you I will get out for this one! I consider my vote to be my one silver bullet to let our leaders know how I think and feel. Many elections have hinged on a small number of votes, even one vote, as I'm sure you know. Someone recently pointed out that "democracy is not a spectator sport." How very true! So, yes I promise you I'll get out and vote in the upcoming election, for your sake, my sake, and that of humankind.

I was about to end by saying, "I hope all is well," but it's because I know the answer that I'm emailing my friends in the first place. Last but not least, it would surely help our cause if you'd pass this email on to others, or do an email of your own that helps gets those silver bullets flying!

P.S. Take a half hour or so and email something like the above to anyone you consider in your network. It may sound like preaching to the choir, but given what appears to be solid research, your clicking away just might tip the scales. Given Krebs' advice, I don't recommend emailing any of your less friendly contacts, unless you're a masochist who enjoys getting flamed (yes, I've been there, too).

Now if you can't do THAT much, I do recommend you heed the title of this article!

Authors Website: http://www.hyperblimp.com

Authors Bio:

In my run for U.S. Senate against Utah's Orrin Hatch, I posted many progressive ideas and principles that I internalized over the years. I'm leaving that site up indefinitely, since it describes what I believe most members of our species truly want: www.voteutah.us. I thank those who sent such wonderful comments, even though it forced me to go buy a few larger hats, which were among my top campaign expenses (just kidding).

My forever-to-write novel (now my favorite book for some unfathomable reason), A Summer with Freeman, finally got out the door, via Kindle and CreateSpace. Readers of this site, and anyone else with two or more brain cells who want some "serious humorous relief" may want to check it out: http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Summer-with-Freeman-nov-by-Daniel-Geery-130528-385.html

My family and I lived off the grid in an earth-sheltered, solar powered underground house for 15 years, starting in the early '80s, proving, at least to myself, the feasibility of solar power. Such a feat would be much infinitely easier with off-the-shelf materials available now, though the bureaucracy holding us back is probably worse. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Living-on-Sunshine-Underg-by-Daniel-Geery-110318-547.html

I wrote a book on earth-sheltered solar greenhouses that has many good ideas, but should be condensed from 400 down to 50 pages, with new info from living off the grid. It's on my "to do" list, but you can find used copies kicking around online. Just don't get the one I see for $250, being hawked by some capitalist... well, some capitalist.

I'm 68 with what is now a 26 year old heart--literally, as it was transplanted in 2005 (a virus, they think). This is why I strongly encourage you and everyone else to be an organ donor--and get a heart transplant if you're over 50, unless your name is Dick Cheney.

I may be the only tenured teacher you'll meet who got fired with a perfect teaching record. I spent seven years in court fighting that, only to find out that little guys always lose (http://www.opednews.com/articles/Letter-to-NEA-Leadership--by-Daniel-Geery-101027-833.html; recommended reading if you happen to be a parent, teacher, or concerned citizen).

I managed to get another teaching job, working in a multi-cultural elementary school for ten years (we had well over 20 native tongues when I left, proving to me that we don't need war to get along--no one even got killed there!). http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_daniel_g_060716_alternatives_to_exti.htm

I spent a few thousand hours working on upward-gliding airships, after reading The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed by John McPhee. But I did my modelling in the water, so it took only two years and 5,000 models to get a shape that worked. You can Google "aquaglider" to learn more about these. As far as I know, this invention represents the first alteration of Archimedes'principle, spelled out 2,500 years ago.

"Airside," the water toys evolved into more of a cigar shape, as this was easier to engineer. Also, solar panels now come as thin as half a manila folder, making it possible for airships to be solar powered. You can see one of the four I made in action by Googling "hyperblimp"(along with many related, advanced versions).

Along with others, I was honored to receive a Charles Lindbergh Foundation Award, to use my airships to study right whales off Argentina. Now we just have to make it happen and are long overdue, for reasons that would probably not fit on the internet.

In 2010 I married a beautiful woman who is an excellent writer and editor, in addition to being a gourmet cook, gardener, kind, gentle, warm, funny, spiritual, and extremely loving. We met via "Plenty-of-Fish" and a number of seemingly cosmic connections. Christine wrote Heart Full of Hope, which many readers have raved about, as you may note on Amazon.

I get blitzed reading the news damn near every day, and wonder why I do it, especially when it's the same old shit recycled, just more of it. In spite of Barbara Ehrenreich and reality, I'm a sucker for positive thinking and have read many books on it. I find many many of them insane and the source of much negativity on my part. My favorites these days are by Alan Cohen, who seems to speak my language, and likewise thinks a bit like Albert Einstein did (as do I on this note). Albert: "Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent, in fact, I am religious."

Though I rapidly note that I've kept alive my deceased and "devout atheist" friend's book, http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Foundation-of-Religion-by-Daniel-Geery-110510-382.html

Lastly, kudos to Rob Kall and those who make OEN the site that it is: one of the last bastions of free speech.