It’s Your Government- Be Represented!

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

“…instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” – with these words, our forefathers established a new country and a new way of governing- one in which the governing bodies are elected by and accountable to the people that they govern; one in which the governing bodies are created in order to carry out the wishes of the people that create them. But as the country has grown, and the population has grown, and the physical distance between the people being governed and the seats of government has grown, those who govern have become more and more out of touch with the people they are supposed to represent. It is common now for individuals to vote for people that they have never met, people about whom they know next to nothing, often knowing no more than that they are a Democrat or a Republican.

In this situation, when you know nothing about the person that you are sending to Washington or to your state capitol to represent you, are you really being represented? How can you know that he or she is going to vote the way you would vote, support the things you would support, when you don’t a thing about them, and they don’t know a thing about you? The fact is, you don’t. The fact is, if your elected officials don’t know what it is that you want them to do, then you aren’t really being represented at all. That’s the bad news. The good news is, you can change this. You can be represented.

That’s because as the country has grown, and we have become farther removed from our seats of government, technology has grown also. From the Pony Express carrying letters across the west, to mail trains carrying letters across the country, to telegraphs and telephones, the communication time has gotten shorter as the physical distance involved has grown. Now letters are being replaced by email, phone calls are being replaced by Skype and Twitter, and communication has gone from taking days or weeks to being virtually instant. We don’t have to go to campaign stops at the train station, or go to the nearest town that a candidate might visit. Everyone has a website. Everyone has email. There is no longer any excuse not to be informed about the opinions your officials or potential officials have about issues that are important to you. Equally, there is no reason why they shouldn’t know how you feel about those same issues. These forms of communication work in both directions. You can communicate your values, your opinions, your feelings about the issues that are important to you. You can be represented.

So if you disagree with the way your government is being run, let someone know. Write to your Governor. Email your state senators and representatives. Call your Federal Congresspeople. Let them know how you feel. It’s your government, and they are supposed to be running things the way you want them to, but they can’t do that if they don’t know what you want. If you have an opinion, let them hear it. The Federal Government has made it easy for you. One of their websites, USA.Gov… Government Made Easy, has information on how to contact most local, state, and federal officials, as well as information on upcoming legislation, and much more. The link below will take you to this website. Check it out and pass it on.

Contact your representatives today, tell them how you feel, and be represented!

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml


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