5 ms·

I contacted my representatives. It took 1 minute. Please do it too.

yoyohello13 5y ago
Like our opinions matter. I learned from net neutrality that my representatives will do whatever they want to do, without regard for the peoples wishes.
- MattPalmer1086 5y ago
  If enough people write in it can have an effect. It can provide political ammunition for those who are already supportive of your position. It may sway representatives who haven't made up their minds and want to get relected. It probably won't change the minds of those who are already fully committed to the other position. Your one letter won't make much difference. Many letters can sway opinion to some extent. I also prefer to participate in the process occasionally.
  - alx__ 5y ago
    It depends. Some folks do weigh the responses Some don't. Looking at you Nancy Pelosi & Dianne Feinstein
  - guerrilla 5y ago
    > If enough people write in it can have an effect. How do you know?
    - MattPalmer1086 5y ago
      In the UK at least, we see politicians talking about what their constituents are writing to them about. I suppose they could all be lying. I've had a letter I wrote to my local MP passed all the way up to central government and received a reply from them. Later, I actually met someone who mentioned a "certain letter" they had to deal with... Which turned out to be the one I'd written!
      - guerrilla 5y ago
        > I suppose they could all be lying. It is what they're known for... > I've had a letter I wrote to my local MP passed all the way up to central government and received a reply from them. Later, I actually met someone who mentioned a "certain letter" they had to deal with... Which turned out to be the one I'd written! I can see that as being useful to keep the urban legend alive. What I'd like to see is statistical evidence but I'm thinking that might not be available.
        MattPalmer1086 5y ago
        It's easier to suppose that some politicians are paying attention to what their voters are motivated enough to write to them about. How much effect it has in the real world is hard to say of course.
        guerrilla 5y ago
        I don't know why you'd think that's easier to suppose. Seems naive. How does listening to you benefit them? Listening to lobbyists, on the other hand...
        MattPalmer1086 5y ago
        Listening to me does nothing. I still think local representives pay attention to when many people express concerns. Lobbying seems to be more of an issue in central government in the UK, not so much at the local level. But I do agree they have outsize influence.
        CRConrad 5y ago
        > How does listening to you benefit them? Listening to lobbyists, on the other hand... Listening to lobbyists (and implementing the stuff they ask for) can only get a politician money to try and buy votes he can use to cling on to his position. People writing in from his constituency, OTOH, are the voters he needs, and listening to their demands and implementing those has a much higher chance of directly giving him their votes.
- LocalPCGuy 5y ago
  This same bill was shelved once before due to outcry about it. They just keep putting it back out there (very similar to Net Neutrality). The key is, to continue the pressure each time it's re-introduced (which is hard, yes). But there is some precedent that vocal outcry and campaigns to write representatives does have some impact.
  - drdaeman 5y ago
    The outcry came from media, not folks writing to politicians. So, write to your favorite news agency instead of/in addition to your "representative"?
commoner 5y ago
If you want to oppose the EARN IT Act, but don't want to spend the time, just use the EFF's "Take Action" page and have them send a prewritten email for you. It really does take just 1 minute. Here's a link to the page to make it even easier: https://act.eff.org/action/stop-the-earn-it-act-to-save-our-privacy https://act.eff.org/action/stop-the-earn-it-act-to-save-our-... At a minimum, the congresspeople's aides will tally up the emails received to measure their constituents' reaction to the bill. If you do have the time, an original email written in your own words might have a greater impact. To determine who your 2 senators and 1 representative are, use these government pages: - Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm - Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representati... Prepare a single email and alter it slightly to make it personalized for each of your 3 recipients. Use the form on the senator's or representative's official senate.gov or house.gov website to reach them, and set the category to "Communications" or "Telecommunications". (The form will block your submission if you include a URL, so don't do that.)
guerrilla 5y ago
Why do people think doing so is effective? Is there any evidence for that?
- mcdonje 5y ago
  It's far more effective than doing nothing. Reps keep track of constituent correspondences and tally them by sentiment. It's one of their main ways of gauging where their constituency is on issues. I guarantee boomers who type google searches into google's facebook page are calling up their reps.
  - guerrilla 5y ago
    > It's far more effective than doing nothing. Is it though? I'd like to see the science on this.
    - CRConrad 5y ago
      > I'd like to see the science on this. Why would you need to? Only if you are saying no amount of voter contact has ever changed any politician's vote on absolutely anything. Is that what you're claiming? If not, then even a single letter changing a single vote by a single politician is already infinitely more than not doing anything, which won't even change a single vote by a single politician on anything. QED: No science needed. HTH!
      - guerrilla 5y ago
        I'm not making a claim, I'm asking why I should believe a claim. I see no reason to.
        CRConrad 5y ago
        Yeah, but unless you claim that no politician has ever been the least influenced by his constituency, there's no reason not to. Of bloody course writing your representative is better than not writing them: It stands at least a chance (however infinitesimal) of accomplishing something. Not doing it doesn't; by definition, it can't. That's a logical syllogism. Logical syllogisms don't need experimental confirmation. So how could and why would one not believe that doing something is, must be, better than doing nothing? That's not "healthy skepticism", it's turning it into illogical nonsense.

Like our opinions matter. I learned from net neutrality that my representatives will do whatever they want to do, without regard for the peoples wishes.

MattPalmer1086 5y ago
If enough people write in it can have an effect. It can provide political ammunition for those who are already supportive of your position. It may sway representatives who haven't made up their minds and want to get relected. It probably won't change the minds of those who are already fully committed to the other position. Your one letter won't make much difference. Many letters can sway opinion to some extent. I also prefer to participate in the process occasionally.
- alx__ 5y ago
  It depends. Some folks do weigh the responses Some don't. Looking at you Nancy Pelosi & Dianne Feinstein
- guerrilla 5y ago
  > If enough people write in it can have an effect. How do you know?
  - MattPalmer1086 5y ago
    In the UK at least, we see politicians talking about what their constituents are writing to them about. I suppose they could all be lying. I've had a letter I wrote to my local MP passed all the way up to central government and received a reply from them. Later, I actually met someone who mentioned a "certain letter" they had to deal with... Which turned out to be the one I'd written!
    - guerrilla 5y ago
      > I suppose they could all be lying. It is what they're known for... > I've had a letter I wrote to my local MP passed all the way up to central government and received a reply from them. Later, I actually met someone who mentioned a "certain letter" they had to deal with... Which turned out to be the one I'd written! I can see that as being useful to keep the urban legend alive. What I'd like to see is statistical evidence but I'm thinking that might not be available.
      - MattPalmer1086 5y ago
        It's easier to suppose that some politicians are paying attention to what their voters are motivated enough to write to them about. How much effect it has in the real world is hard to say of course.
        guerrilla 5y ago
        I don't know why you'd think that's easier to suppose. Seems naive. How does listening to you benefit them? Listening to lobbyists, on the other hand...
        MattPalmer1086 5y ago
        Listening to me does nothing. I still think local representives pay attention to when many people express concerns. Lobbying seems to be more of an issue in central government in the UK, not so much at the local level. But I do agree they have outsize influence.
        CRConrad 5y ago
        > How does listening to you benefit them? Listening to lobbyists, on the other hand... Listening to lobbyists (and implementing the stuff they ask for) can only get a politician money to try and buy votes he can use to cling on to his position. People writing in from his constituency, OTOH, are the voters he needs, and listening to their demands and implementing those has a much higher chance of directly giving him their votes.
LocalPCGuy 5y ago
This same bill was shelved once before due to outcry about it. They just keep putting it back out there (very similar to Net Neutrality). The key is, to continue the pressure each time it's re-introduced (which is hard, yes). But there is some precedent that vocal outcry and campaigns to write representatives does have some impact.
- drdaeman 5y ago
  The outcry came from media, not folks writing to politicians. So, write to your favorite news agency instead of/in addition to your "representative"?

commoner 5y ago

If you want to oppose the EARN IT Act, but don't want to spend the time, just use the EFF's "Take Action" page and have them send a prewritten email for you. It really does take just 1 minute. Here's a link to the page to make it even easier: https://act.eff.org/action/stop-the-earn-it-act-to-save-our-privacy https://act.eff.org/action/stop-the-earn-it-act-to-save-our-... At a minimum, the congresspeople's aides will tally up the emails received to measure their constituents' reaction to the bill. If you do have the time, an original email written in your own words might have a greater impact. To determine who your 2 senators and 1 representative are, use these government pages: - Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm - Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representati... Prepare a single email and alter it slightly to make it personalized for each of your 3 recipients. Use the form on the senator's or representative's official senate.gov or house.gov website to reach them, and set the category to "Communications" or "Telecommunications". (The form will block your submission if you include a URL, so don't do that.)

guerrilla 5y ago

Why do people think doing so is effective? Is there any evidence for that?

mcdonje 5y ago
It's far more effective than doing nothing. Reps keep track of constituent correspondences and tally them by sentiment. It's one of their main ways of gauging where their constituency is on issues. I guarantee boomers who type google searches into google's facebook page are calling up their reps.
- guerrilla 5y ago
  > It's far more effective than doing nothing. Is it though? I'd like to see the science on this.
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    > I'd like to see the science on this. Why would you need to? Only if you are saying no amount of voter contact has ever changed any politician's vote on absolutely anything. Is that what you're claiming? If not, then even a single letter changing a single vote by a single politician is already infinitely more than not doing anything, which won't even change a single vote by a single politician on anything. QED: No science needed. HTH!
    - guerrilla 5y ago
      I'm not making a claim, I'm asking why I should believe a claim. I see no reason to.
      - CRConrad 5y ago
        Yeah, but unless you claim that no politician has ever been the least influenced by his constituency, there's no reason not to. Of bloody course writing your representative is better than not writing them: It stands at least a chance (however infinitesimal) of accomplishing something. Not doing it doesn't; by definition, it can't. That's a logical syllogism. Logical syllogisms don't need experimental confirmation. So how could and why would one not believe that doing something is, must be, better than doing nothing? That's not "healthy skepticism", it's turning it into illogical nonsense.