Virtual Political Activism (Helpless No More!)
Care2.org Act on Banning Drilling
While I was busy raising a family, then starting a career, the world turned and churned even though I wasn’t paying attention. I filtered information that came to me so it only concerned science and technology. Now, that my kids are grown, my career is doing well, and I have the energy, I decided to poke my head out in the world to see what was going on. UGH! Mayhem, freedoms being violated, ignorance running rampant, and the loonies seem to be taking over.
There are issues I can’t and won’t ignore any longer. I became concerned mostly about two big areas: Violations of Separation of Church and State, and Environmental issues.
My initial reactions to how bad these situations are was like most other people who feel equally angry, frustrated, and appalled. I ranted, complained, and spewed ideas. By nature though, I am a doer, and all this whining, though justified, only increased my feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. I decided to act!
Fortunately, I’m getting politically active at a great technology period in history. The Internet makes getting details about problems and issues easy, and it is the ideal medium to act and get involved in initiating change. While people still hold signs of protest aloft the old fashion way, many more are rallying people of like minds en masse virtually. Social networks and sites provide tools to email protests and support for bills and causes as easy as clicking a button.
Sites like Care2.org, Defenders of Wildlife, Secular Coalition of America, VoteHemp.org and The Environmental Defense Fund not only provide online petitions, but they also provide a thought out email you can send your state Representative, Congress persons, Senators, and even the President to either protest or support a bill or issue.
From Facebook Page
Sharing links to these sites in Facebook allows you to spread a cause virally, reaching thousands, and even millions of people.
For instance, I was livid when I heard that Discovery Networks was giving Sarah Palin a show on Alaska. I was not alone. Defenders of Wildlife created a petition I could sign in protest, as well as a letter to the network executives I sent through a button click.
From there, I shared that link on my Facebook page with over 200+ friends, and I posted it to twelve other pages with thousands fans who would likely want to add their signatures in protest. I specifically targeted Facebook pages that protested Sarah Palin, and pages about wildlife conservation and wolves specifically. In this way, Defenders has collected nearly a million signatures. Whether or not Discovery cares about all these unhappy viewers remains to be seen.
Interactive Web Board
Petitions and letters to government officials are great for getting your opinions out there, but we also must go that extra step at times. For combating the issue of violations of church and state, I felt I had to do more. Lo and behold, I discovered a site via a Facebook post about the Secular Coalition of America, a 501(c)4 advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States.
I went to their site to learn more about the current issues, the laws and wording in the US constitution regarding these problems, and I signed up for Action Alerts. Additionally, I discovered the Executive Director Sean Faircloth was speaking in my area about grassroots and starting SCA branches in each state. Now, I have an organization to speak my concerns and lobby on my behalf.
I signed up to donate monthly, and spread the word virally through social networks like Facebook and Twitter, plus Second Life(SL). I own the Secular Community in SL, and have created an interactive board with the SCA website on it. Additionally, I am informing SL citizens about this organization, sharing the problems of violations of church and state, and hope to grow awareness in a huge way.
Signing petitions, sending emails to the right government officials, donating money to causes, and spreading the word via social networks and web sites alleviates helplessness and hopeless while initiating much needed change. If we don’t find the right outlets for our voice, our opinions won’t be heard. Virtual political activism makes it easy for people to come together in a causes and support or protest. Your voice and your money does go a long way in making change happen.
May 29th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Thank you for the article and all the links. I have now signed up for secular coalition action alerts. It is hard to stand by feeling helpless. These help.
June 4th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
[...] We can help create the change the world needs, but we have to unite in our efforts. If you want to know more about this topic, please see a blog I wrote, Virtual Political Action. [...]
October 19th, 2010 at 5:49 am
good post