Political activism for Linux users/advocates

[steve at cyberianhamster.com (Steve)]

(Oops, I was supposed to send this to the list but accidentally just 
sent it to the author...)

Jeffry Smith wrote:

> Some things I'll add about "Political Activism"
> 1.  Write / call your congresscritters - both House and Senate.  That's 
> write as in snail-mail, not write as in e-mail.  Very important, because 
> it means you cared enough to take time and write.  E-mails are too quick.


For extra benefit, hand write them. It's a personal touch, and it 
greatly decreases the chances that it will be misconstrued as an 
automated astroturf campaign.

Supposedly, many congress folks receive grass roots letters in 
handwritten form. The most recent Microsoft astroturfing campaign 
consisted of mostly mass-produced printed letters which immediately 
raised a few congressional alarms of being bogus.

If you want to do this, it means two things. (1) Be concise. (2) Take 
some time to make it particularly legible.

> 2.  Be polite.



I always despise the "Us" vs. "Them" attitude that seeks to demonize the 
other side. In this case, it would be such <sarcasm> enormously 
useful</sarcasm> terms like Big Government, Big Business, etc. This 
would obviously be stupid considering your audience, and it clouds the 
thinking process. You have to write in such a way that brings you and 
the target together, not apart. If you know your Congressman leans a 
certain way good for your cause, obviously, you should lean the same way.

> 3.  Remember, on most topics, they hear NOTHING from their constituents.  
> The fact that someone takes time to write counts a lot.  The fact that a 
> lot of people write counts for more.  They do know who votes (even if 
> someone else pays the bill).



They're also busy, and they may not be the most tech-savvy in the world. 
Real-world examples they can relate to would help immensely rather than 
going too abstract into what constitutes freedom, facism, etc.

> 4.  Emphasize the problems with the bill in terms they understand.  For 
> DMCA, I point out that, if the same law were applied to consumer safety, 
> we'd send anyone who complained about the Firestone tires on their Ford 
> vehicles to jail. For this new law, I'd say, it says "Ford and Firestone 
> are required to build dangerous products. And, we'll jail anyone who 
> complains, or points out the problems with the products.


See?

Steve

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