A California Republican

Here’s a definition of apathetic: having or showing little feeling or emotion; having or showing little interest.

So I want to say to many of you out there - stop being apathetic Americans!

Do you wonder what I mean by this? Here’s the reality - this election had the highest voter turn out in an election since we have started measuring such things. Do you want to know what percentage of people turned out to vote…approximatly 67%. So we are saying that in the highest turn out we have every had, 2/3 of those people eleigible to vote actually voted. 

In a world where tax rates affect everyone, where the environment affects everyone, where yur ability to spend your money depends on what the government does with theirs - people aren’t voting.

I used to work in the CA Legislature as a legislative aide to members. One of the jobs I had was to take comments from constitutents and compile them into a database and write a report, then brief the member, on the concerns every week. When I say it was a good week if I had 5 comments, I mean it.

I asked Sen. Boxer’s district office how many letters they get a week. They said they don’t get as many as they would estimate. On big issues they sometimes get burst letters, or postcards that people fill out, or form emails. But the ones they really pay attention to are people who write their own email, call and leave their own message, or send a letter that is written by them and isn’t a form letter. But there aren’t many people who do this.

Ok - so at two very different levels - federal and state - the same thing is coming out….people aren’t participating. People vote and think that is the end of politics.

Here’s the truth - that’s not the end. These people want to be re-elected, and the way they get re-elected is to do what their constituents want. But how do they know what their constituents want if no one tells them anything? All they can do then is appeal to the base that got them elected in the first place. It isn’t like elections are competitive in CA, so no one really has to appeal to both sides unless both sides get active.

So here are some ideas on how to get active:

1) Pick an issue, and write a letter/email/phone call your representatives about that issue. Do it every week. Make it a weekly thing, maybe even a family thing. Do it on Sundays as a family where everyone picks an issue and writes a letter/email/phone call.

2. Don’t accept the words in the newspaper as the God-given truth. Newspapers are notoriously liberal. Make sure you go check the fact sheets of both sides on a bill. In CA this is easy - look at www.leginfo.ca.gov. They have the bill analysis posted there and include opposition. Then write a letter about that bill. Pick one every other week and get involved.

3. Show up at an event. Or if there isn’t an event - start your own!

4. Encourage people in your area to become registered voters. Start your own voter registration drive for your neighborhood. Walk around to houses with voter cards and get people registered.

5. Become a member of your local party. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican - or something else - there is a local party for you to be part of. Get involved!

6. Not all politics is big, there are local meetings too. Go to a county supervisors meeting, or a school board meeting and speak intelligently on a topic. This will require some effort, but it will be worth it.

7. Form a community association and start writing letters of support and opposition from the community association on issues.

8. Run for office.

9. Challenge the status quo. Make a candidate answer your questions. And when they don’t - write an editorial saying that you directly asked a question and they didn’t answer.

10. DONT LEAVE POLITICS UNTIL THE ELECTION. by then it is too late to change people’s mind and bring things to their attention.

The moral of the story is that American’s don’t seem to care or be interested in politics. Sure, some of it is dry. Who really cares about the actual mechanics of making law and passing treaties except political junkies? But politics affects everything you do - and so you shouldn’t be apathetic about it.

Let’s stop having the apathetic American be the norm and become more involved.