[Jacob-list] New USDA mandatory program

[Susan Nielsen]

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 Neeets at netscape.net wrote:

> So you understand.  WE all can not be on the house or senate floor...
> only certain people are allowed to BE THERE whispering and doing
> bidding for the rest of us.

No, no, no! That is just not the way American citizen activists go to
work.

My Representative and at least one of my Senators (the other one prefers
not to acknowledge people of my ilk, but I think he knows me anyway) know
me well enough to greet me by name at community meetings. They know my name
when it comes into their mailbox. They know I am a member of their
constituency and that I care how they vote. And that's how we get "good
people working on it" in Washington. They are our people, and if we do not
take the initiative to tell them how we feel, we have no one whispering
or doing our bidding. Just hoping for it won't get it done.

How hard is it to get the ear of these people? Not hard at all. Go to
your community town halls and meetings. If you are shy to stand up and
speak, go prepared with a letter, and give it to the Senator's or
Representative's assistant, who is there just for that purpose. Identify
yourself each time, and before long they will smile in recognition when
they see you. Does it take some time? Yes. Is it important? Yes, indeed.
It's the foundation of the way our republic works.

You do not have to be rich. You don't have to be important. You make your
own importance when you walk in the door. A few years ago I learned that
the office of then Senator Mark Hatfield had a formula for the value of
a letter written by a constituent. This was in the days before email, so
the figures have probably changed since then, but at the time the value
of a letter written was reckoned to be equivanlent to 14,000 unspoken
opinions in the district. I thought that was a pretty good return for the
price of a postage stamp. I also thought it was a shameful quotient:
that my one voice was the equal of so many people who did not bother to
raise theirs.

The rules are:

First, educate yourself. Don't belive everything you read or hear. These
days, with the internet, it takes only minutes to find the source material
and make sure what you have been told is correct.

Second, think about it before you write. Once you know the facts, form
your own opinion.

Third, write it. The forum of America is the postage stamp, the email
letter, the chair in a room in a public school townhall meeting. Write
reasonably and explain yourself. Don't panic, don't harrangue. Just
explain.

Fourth, note how good that made you feel, and do it agian.

Oh, so sincerely,

Susan
--
Susan Layne Nielsen, Shambles Workshops      	|"...Gently down the
Beavercreek, OR, USA -- snielsen at orednet.org  	|stream..." -- Anon.
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Purveyors of fine honey, Jacob Sheep, Ashford spinning products