I remember a while back, I read in a women’s magazine about political activists who were out “saving the world.” What struck me was something one of the activist’s said: “I found out that me and 25 friends could make a difference in changing politics.” I never forgot that. We often think it takes a big majority of people or a huge group to make a change. I think that’s wrong. Most people don’t care about politics and the truth is you and 25 friends can make a difference.
I know it sounds odd, but it’s true. In my experience as a “community organizer,” if I had 25 dedicated people in this Congressional District as my volunteers, this would be a far more pro-gun county than it is. With 25 dedicated people, I’d have something very real and valuable to offer state and local politicians, and even Congressional and National races. In grassroots political activity, volunteers are very hard to find. Dedicated volunteers are pure gold.
The politicians know this too. The biggest thing you can give them (and by converse take away), more than money or your individual vote, is your time. This is especially true for your state and local level politicians, who depend more on grassroots activity than a federal Congressman or Senator who has money to buy media ads. But even federal politicians still need volunteers.
With 25 dedicated people, I could easily change the political calculation on guns in this county. I can say that without a doubt. That’s why I plead so often for people to volunteer their time. The things that keep people from volunteering are understandable, namely a lack of time, and because no one really likes politicians all that much. I don’t really like them either. But, unfortunately, much like cattle, if you don’t keep them well corralled and under control, they’ll stampede and ruin everything.
There are two kinds of people in politics; those who believe that one person can change the world and do, and those who vote with the herd, because they won’t.
“Yes we can!” means “No I can’t”. Seeking identity in the group is to surrender to one’s own fears of inadequacy. The body politic is not made up of groups, but of individuals. The words and actions of one person can inspire thousands. Those people are called ‘leaders’, and America is great because we are a nation of leaders, of doers, of activists. Not all of us, but many of us. We are great and powerful as a whole because we are brave and strong as individuals in a way that other nations lack, and that’s the key to American-style politics.
I’ve got a friend that is, to use the popular term, a little old lady. She is VERY active politically. EVERY politician, to include those representing her at the state and federal levels, knows her. They know her by name and by face.
She makes a huge difference.
She holds their feet to the fire. She notifies the news outlets about what she sees that isn’t right. She works with a local non-partisan political group that fights waste and stupidity in local government. One time they went to the dump and pulled out all kinds of papers with sensitive information on them that the various offices had thrown out without shredding. They brought these to the city council meeting (having notified the local TV station news crew of what was going to happen) and pointed out that our servants were exposing all kinds of our private information to the world. By the end of the next day there wasn’t a shredder to be found for sale in the whole city.
She’s a treasure.