3 Ways to Make A Difference: Changing The World With Political Awareness
OPINION : APRIL 8, 2020
Article by ChangeRoots
It’s easy to feel powerless nowadays when watching the news, especially when it’s about telling right from wrong. Each of us, however, can take action to make things better, and enjoy life to the fullest. Here’s three ways to make a difference: changing the world with political awareness.
The skills and experience you gain as a law student could benefit you in other careers – such as politics. In fact, for most of U.S. history, Congress had the highest share of people with legal backgrounds. Barack Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Joe Biden, all were attorneys. In the end, studying law isn’t just about learning the law, it also involve critical analysis, and thinking about how to improve the system. This is precisely why political awarenesses is important.
(1) Understanding toxic partisanship
There’s nothing inherently bad about being political, whether Democrat or Republican. However it can quickly become damaging when people start considering the other side to be their enemy. In the workplace: 60% of employees say discussing politics at work is unacceptable, but 57% do it anyway!
Thus if you decide to be political, learning more about partisanship gives you the skills to prevent yourself and others from becoming dangerously partisan.
There’s a few resources you can consult: for the bookworm: Love Your Enemies ; for the article reader: No Hate Left Behind; for the data wiz: HiddenTribe; for the podcaster: More Divided Than Ever: Excavating the Roots Of Our Political Landscape.
(2) Define what matters to you
Some of us have a specific idea of what we want in a politician, most of us do not. We don’t know what things we should value. Should we care about policy? Experience? Effectiveness? Character? How should we compare which factor matters more than another? If I think a candidate is smart and honest, but they support policies I don’t like, how should I feel? Unfortunately, there is no objectively right answer, but there is likely the right answer for you. Thinking about this in a structured way can help.
Since our brain likes to feel like it is consistent and logical, it’s best to come up with a framework that makes sense to you, before inserting any real person into it. This way, you may feel like you’ve picked someone with a bit more thought than who you’d rather have a beer with (but, hey we’re a democracy, so do what feels right boo).
Because it’s complicated and nuanced, most people feel overwhelmed about the prospect of figuring out who they should support. This is a big reason why we tend to ignore the political process until there are only two options left to choose from…which has not turned out so well for us.
If you need a place to start, there is a one-page(ish) framework to evaluate the 2020 presidential candidates. It can be found here: What matters in a President: A framework for evaluating politicians.
(3) Micro donate to your favorite candidate
Adding money to politics may not seem like a helpful thing on the surface, but political contributions are a fundamental part of our democratic process, at least right now. We can use it for good or opt-out and let the big companies and the elite wield it for their self-interest.
Once you have an idea of which candidate you like, sending them a small donation has an impact beyond just helping them buy more cheesy TV ads. It sends a signal to the candidate and to other people that this person is worth supporting – social scientists call this social norming. Take two candidates, Ashley and Will. Ashley has received donations from 20 million people while Will has received donations from 100,000 people. If we have no other information about either of them, we will have a more positive view of Ashley because more people support her. This is why likes and views dictate everything in the social media world.
If there’s a candidate you support and you can spare the change, send them a small donation and tell your friends – you’ll be helping them more than you know.
Donate to Democrats: ActBlue
Donate to Republicans: WinRed
Donate to Independents: The google machine
In conclusion, small steps add up
Politics is simply the name for how we – as a country – try to take into account the opinions of over 300 million people. Looking at the United States from that vantage, it’s pretty bananas we’re able to get anything done. If we each take a little time to understand what we want a bit better, life can get better for all of us. Remember, you have influence, you just need to claim it.
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This article was written for the most part by ChangeRoots, a civic & social organization. You can read the full article here.
The International Lawyer is a non-political, non-partisan blog. We do not support or endorse any political candidates.
I’m glad you talked about how we could have a political point of view, but we shouldn’t turn into poisonous partisans. In my opinion, we should research a politician before choosing to support them. I believe it’s important we participate in our country’s politics, but in a healthy way, so I’ll be sure to share your piece with my family and colleagues. Thanks for the advice on how we should be politically aware without stepping over the line.