Not many of us, who actually have the opportunity to, ever bother to write our elected representatives. (Speaking as an American here.) There are probably lots of common reasons for this. The late Mo Udall (US Representative from Arizona) felt that
This reluctance to communicate results from the typical and understandable feeling that legislators have no time or inclination to read their mail, that a letter probably won't be answered or answered satisfactorily, that one letter won't make any difference anyway. Based on my own experience, and speaking for myself at least, I can state flatly that these notions are wrong.
He also said that
I read every letter written to me by a constituent.... On several occasions, a single, thoughtful, factually persuasive letter did change my mind or cause me to initiate a review of a previous judgment. Nearly every day my faith is renewed by one or more informative and helpful letters giving me a better understanding of the thinking of my constituents.
In this wired age, it is almost pathetically easy to take this one step in exercising our freedoms. The website Congress Merge has a tool that brings up all of your state's representatives and senators and their contact info (along with tips on how to write an effective letter.)
My New Year's resolution is to write at least 2 letters to my elected officials, about something I care about. Maybe it will become a habit. What about you? Do you live in a free country? Do you write your elected officials? Do you think it matters?
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