Jeez I hate to come in and be the jerk, but this feels a lot like the "boycott" where you don't buy gas on Thursdays because the oil companies really take it in the ass if you buy it on Fridays instead.
I would love to believe that our collective opinions could have some weight in whether or not massive wallstreet i-banks get bailed out or not, but I think I'll just try the Friday gas thing, since it has a better shot at creating change.
You are incorrect on this. If enough people are riled up and rattle the cages of their elected representatives, things can and will change.
Look at the immigration reform bill that congress tried to get passed several times this past year--it would have sailed through if not for the massive public outcry.
The main problem is this: all of us citizens are too busy with our own lives to concern ourselves with getting involved in government at any level. Here in Redmond they had open-house Q&A sessions with all of the mayoral candidates recently, and in a city of 45,000 people, maybe 25 people showed up at each one (and half of them were residents of the rest home where the events were held). Message to local leaders: do what you want, we (the people) don't give a darn . . .
The main problem is this: all of us citizens are too busy with our own lives to concern ourselves with getting involved in government at any level. ... Message to local leaders: do what you want, we (the people) don't give a darn . . .
Marching in the streets does not accomplish much and is not what I would consider getting involved in one's government (yes, I have done it also, taking a day off from work and marching through downtown Olympia to the capital with thousands of teachers including my wife). Writing individual (as opposed to form) letters to one's elected representatives, clearly stating one's position, is a better approach.
But you have a point--our representatives are usually voting how their largest contributors (can you say 'lobbyists?') want them to, and that is a problem which is much more difficult to solve.
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US Senate
US House of Representatives
In fact, you should do this often for issues that you care about. It is one of the responsibilities of being a citizen in a representative democracy.
Petition signed, and I sent emails to Cantwell and Inslee.
No bailout.
I would love to believe that our collective opinions could have some weight in whether or not massive wallstreet i-banks get bailed out or not, but I think I'll just try the Friday gas thing, since it has a better shot at creating change.
You are incorrect on this. If enough people are riled up and rattle the cages of their elected representatives, things can and will change.
Look at the immigration reform bill that congress tried to get passed several times this past year--it would have sailed through if not for the massive public outcry.
The main problem is this: all of us citizens are too busy with our own lives to concern ourselves with getting involved in government at any level. Here in Redmond they had open-house Q&A sessions with all of the mayoral candidates recently, and in a city of 45,000 people, maybe 25 people showed up at each one (and half of them were residents of the rest home where the events were held). Message to local leaders: do what you want, we (the people) don't give a darn . . .
Really?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_1 ... ar_protest
listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history.
Message to public: ... you tell me.
Marching in the streets does not accomplish much and is not what I would consider getting involved in one's government (yes, I have done it also, taking a day off from work and marching through downtown Olympia to the capital with thousands of teachers including my wife). Writing individual (as opposed to form) letters to one's elected representatives, clearly stating one's position, is a better approach.
But you have a point--our representatives are usually voting how their largest contributors (can you say 'lobbyists?') want them to, and that is a problem which is much more difficult to solve.