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American democracy is fascinating, especially at this juncture in time. It's both reliant on age-old wisdom (we still look to the 200+ year old constitution as the foundation of our government) and embracing of the most modern technology (John McCain sends his followers messages on Twitter).
But the most important part remains how you, the citizen interact with it all. If it's to remain a working democracy, we've got to know how best to get our voices heard. Do we still take a seat in city council meetings and wait our turn to speak? Or do we fill out digital petitions that help send tens of thousands of common complaints out to a specific politician in tandem? So how best do you participate in modern democracy? I've got a couple ideas.
All of this is of utmost importance to green issues: we're entering an age where the environment and climate change are going to play a central role in all our lives. We'd best become acquainted with the always-changing democratic system if we're to make our voices heard.
- Vote
Obviously. Seriously—you've got to vote. - Organize Online:
One of the great (and obvious) benefits of the internet has been its ability to link like-minded people together regardless of geographic location. But it's done much more than to allow you to be Facebook friends with someone in Europe (though there are some great ways Facebook can help you engage democracy, too. It's also allowed people to organize and create social networks that can drive real change in a democracy. A great example of this is Care2. It acts as both a social network for the green minded and as a petition site which helps thousands of voices get heard. And it works. The site sets up an easy platform for you to create, sign, and promote petitions for important causes—and once a petition has upwards of 50,000 e-signatures (which isn't uncommon for the site) it gets a little harder to ignore. Often, the petitions are sent straight to Congress, or a targeted politician see the ongoing petition to stop the aerial killing of wolves in Alaska once the goal of signatures is hit. They can also be sent directly to companies with destructive environmental policies—one petition successfully managed to stop Victoria's Secret to stop using paper made from endangered wood. Any petition's direct effect on policy is harder to gauge, but let's just say hundreds of thousands of concerned voices are better than none.
Get involved by registering at CARE2, and start writing your own petitions and signing others right away. Other great online organization efforts include the Al Gore led We Campaign, which boasts over 2 million members who are making their voice heard on the need to fight climate change. - Protest Peaceably
During his presidency, Nixon always said publicly that people could protest the war all they wanted, and it wouldn't sway his opinion of anything. However, years later, he was caught on tape reflecting that indeed the protests had contributed in a very real way to his decision to remove troops from Vietnam. Yes, protesting is a very real part of democracy—that whole right to peaceable assembly thing is there for a reason. And I know we've all heard critics dubbing our age 'the era of apathy' and so on—but protesting still works. Just look at the recent Capital Climate Action event that took place in DC: thousands of protestors assembled in front of the Capitol Power Plant to call for Congress to pass climate legislation. The event was planned for months, and before it even took place Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid not-so-coincidentally called for the plant to be switched to natural gas. It's a perfect example of peaceable protest (there were no arrests made or any injuries) stoking tangible change. So prove the naysayers who think this is the age of apathy wrong—join a peaceful protest or publically organize to fight climate change. There're sure to happen much more often as understanding of climate change grows—and you can be on the frontline, making your voice heard. - Get Old Fashioned—Head to City Hall
One tried and true way to make your voice heard is to march on down to city hall and to give your public officials a piece of your mind—respectfully, of course. If you've got a problem with say, plans to put in a mini mall on undeveloped forestland, speaking to city councilmen could have an influence on whether city hall issues the zoning permits. Same goes for any number of issues. It's definitely a good idea to speak to your local politicians about green issues. Many city councils have different protocols for hearing the public—some require you to call in advance so you'll be included on the agenda, others have you fill out a request to speak form. Still others allow you to leave your comments on a city hall website. Log onto your city's website if it has one to get the appropriate info—if it doesn't have one, head straight on down to town hall and get the info firsthand. - Email Your Elected Officials
Or, you can track down your local politicians' info and write to them directly. All of your elected officials' contact information is public for this very purpose. For example, here's a list of email addresses for all the New York City Council Members. Of course, same goes for your state and national congressmen, but in this day and age it's more likely you'll get your voice heard if you go the petition route—these guys' inboxes are brimming over. Just emailing officials probably isn't the best way to motivate major change, but every 'new message' that pops into the inbox is at least a subtle reminder that people out there are paying attention.
Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when writing your public officials.
More on Greening Democracy:
A Democracy at Work: Australia Votes on Climate Change*
Influence President-Elect Obama's Urban Policy
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