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> On almost every issue, practically nobody reaches out to their representatives. the handful of times i’ve been impassioned enough to write or call my rep, i’

> On almost every issue, practically nobody reaches out to their representatives. the handful of times i’ve been impassioned enough to write or call my rep, i’ve felt ashamed for doing so. polling and voting is the only system we have deployed that lets near every individual exercise equal influence. to call my rep, and participate in this side channel that’s used by only 1/1000th the population — and far from a uniform sampling of it — is to demonstrate that i don’t value the egalitarian ideals that my nation and most of its citizens espouse: that i think my opinion actually is more important/valid than the other 99.9% of ordinary voters. i don’t know how you reconcile this. i can see how sharing “unopinionated” factual information — if such a thing can really exist — with your rep could be generally good, but calling to share my opinion seems a blatant contradiction: curious if anyone has an explanation for it that doesn’t feel so icky.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> is to demonstrate that i don’t value the egalitarian ideals that my nation and most of its citizens espouse No less than voting when not everyone votes. More pointedly, not everyone is equally knowledgeable on every issue. And not every issue can be brought to a vote.
- colinsane 4y ago
  > No less than voting when not everyone votes. ? it absolutely is less so. roughly 1/2 of eligible citizens vote; the proportion that call their reps is 1/2 of 1/2 of 1/2 of […]. however you chop it, it’s significantly less. i can’t but read you as saying that any system that fails to achieve 100% representation is equally flawed: that a system where only 1 person votes is “no less [egalitarian]” than a system where all-but-1 vote. you can’t honestly believe that.
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > proportion that call their reps is 1/2 of 1/2 of 1/2 of… Some places have a culture of civic service. Many do not. I’ve canvassed for New York City elections with single-digit turnout; the last primary barely scratched double digits [1]. Would you castigate those who exercised their right to vote? Of course not. More pointedly: democracy doesn’t work with disengaged citizens. This is true for pure democracies; moreso for republics. Shame for civic participation is the opposite of responsible citizenship. If there are folks who lack access, help them. It takes a perverted reading of the history of democracy, of its formation and failures, to conclude engaging one’s representatives is anything but good. [1] https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/8/24/23320921/turnout-new-york-primary-low-voting-rights?_amp=true https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/8/24/23320921/turnout-new-york-...

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> is to demonstrate that i don’t value the egalitarian ideals that my nation and most of its citizens espouse No less than voting when not everyone votes. More pointedly, not everyone is equally knowledgeable on every issue. And not every issue can be brought to a vote.

colinsane 4y ago
> No less than voting when not everyone votes. ? it absolutely is less so. roughly 1/2 of eligible citizens vote; the proportion that call their reps is 1/2 of 1/2 of 1/2 of […]. however you chop it, it’s significantly less. i can’t but read you as saying that any system that fails to achieve 100% representation is equally flawed: that a system where only 1 person votes is “no less [egalitarian]” than a system where all-but-1 vote. you can’t honestly believe that.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > proportion that call their reps is 1/2 of 1/2 of 1/2 of… Some places have a culture of civic service. Many do not. I’ve canvassed for New York City elections with single-digit turnout; the last primary barely scratched double digits [1]. Would you castigate those who exercised their right to vote? Of course not. More pointedly: democracy doesn’t work with disengaged citizens. This is true for pure democracies; moreso for republics. Shame for civic participation is the opposite of responsible citizenship. If there are folks who lack access, help them. It takes a perverted reading of the history of democracy, of its formation and failures, to conclude engaging one’s representatives is anything but good. [1] https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/8/24/23320921/turnout-new-york-primary-low-voting-rights?_amp=true https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/8/24/23320921/turnout-new-york-...