Saturday, August 25, 2007

Become an Email Activist

I don't consider myself to be politically active. I have an opinion, of course, and I vote, but I've never contributed time or money to a political campaign. Lately I've been dipping my toe into the world of email activism and I gotta say, it feels pretty good.

I started through my day job. I work for a major cancer organization and as a cancer survivor, I have a personal stake in many of the issues that my employer advocates (increased government research funding, smoke-free communities, etc.). Then, as a frustrated mom trying to find a better way to balance a successful career and a thriving family, I stumbled across (hallelujah!!!) Momsrising.org, a movement dedicated to advocating for a family-friendly America. (My peeps!!!) Both organizations make email activism so easy. You get an alert, click on a link, fill out an online form, hit send and voila!, you've taken a stand on an issue and let your voice be heard.

I'm so surprised that more women don't actively engage in email activism on a regular basis. Every time I forward one of my email alerts to my super mommy friends network, it's usually met with a resounding silence. Maybe they don't realize that being an activist these days doesn't have to mean burning a bra or staging a march. Or maybe, as PunditMom muses in this post on Work It, Mom!, politics just isn't everyone's thing. Or it could be (and I think this is the real reason), as PunditMom points out in this post, that we're too nice to stir the pot and don't realize what a powerful force we can be when we do put our opinions out there.

I realize that changing the world isn't the first thing on everyone's to-do list, but we absolutely HAVE to get in this game. The stakes have never been higher for us as Moms and as Americans. It really doesn't take much effort or money (and if you don't believe that, check out THIS post from PunditMom). I've seen bills in Congress succeed and fail due to pure public pressure. If you don't want to devote your life or your blog to changing the political tide, start small like me. Sign up for some email action alerts at Momsrising.org, NOW or Congress.org. It takes all of ten minutes. If changing the world isn't reason enough, here's one more. Just like many of us have found with this blogging thing...giving yourself a forum to be heard feels friggin' great!


Share/Bookmark

No comments: