Doing something about politics

How to do something about changing politics; but first, why should you care.

Politics have a great impact on your life. For example, the price of gas, your interest rate on your car loan/house, your tax rate, your Social Security payments and other very real issues are directly influenced by political decisions. So please care about what goes on. Those are simply the national issues. On a more local level, your city services (sidewalks, schools, etc) and state stuff (see Trina) are also political, like educational policies. So please be aware of what's happening so that you don't wind up with really stupid people in charge doing really stupid stuff (like the major corruption scandals that have erupted in Chicago and New Orleans this year). If you don't believe that can happen in your town, here's a fact. There were over 2,300 ongoing FBI investigations into public corruption at the end of 2005. That's about fifty cases per state. When you consider that number is cases, not individuals, the number of people involved goes up substantially (it takes at least two people to have corruption).

On to changing the world.
1. Your phone call/email really does count. I work in the Senate; I know. Some intern/staffer counts the number of emails/phone calls received every day and on what side of the issue that they're on. Your email/phone call could be one of them. Politicians really do care about those numbers. If a lot of angry people call/email about something, you get listened to. This holds true for local politics, except attending city council meetings are an easier way to make the point.
2. Your vote counts. Please make informed decisions about who you're voting for. Trina can help you on this issue by pointing out where to go to get information. If you don't vote, please begin the habit this year. How you vote really does affect the election.
3. When you become aware of what's happening, you can hold an intelligent and informed conversation with other people, thus helping them make better decisions.
4. Find a group that you agree with politically. It doesn't have to be a party. It can be an interest group, politician or anything really. If you're so inclined and able, donate time/money to help them out. They will pay attention to either of those. If neither of those options are avialable, at least let them know that you support them. It does matter.
5. If you really want to have fun, run for office. We love elections in America and a lot of them are uncontested. If not, just vote for me when I run for office.