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With elections coming up and the current political climate shaping into a cultural battleground, more and more Americans are asking themselves “what can I do?” The goal of this article is to help and guide people who want to get more involved in politics but aren't sure where to start.
A good starting point could be connecting with friends and family that may be feeling similarly about a voting issue, candidate, or upcoming election. Sharing your point of view and hearing theirs could help shape the direction of the kind of action you might want to take.
<aside> 💡 Political action & involvement doesn’t always have to be grandiose. In fact, starting small can lead to larger impacts. Below is a list of some small actions that can get you started:
As mentioned earlier, communicating your opinions via social media is a pretty easy first step. It is encouraged that you maintain a respectful tone and abide by the guidelines of the social platform you are posting on. Things like: threats of violence, profanity, and cyberbullying are usually prohibited and could potentially be investigated criminally.
Most (if not all) elected officials and political candidates have some form of social media. Twitter and Facebook are two very popular platforms, but Instagram, TikTok and others are also great access-points for politicians and political party organizers.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania,
“Communication between an elected official and the people is a two-way street. Thanks to the free speech clause of the First Amendment, politicians cannot eliminate viewpoints they don’t want to hear.” (1)
This was most recently tested in court in a legal case in 2019: Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia Univ. v. Trump, when the Knight Institute filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for blocking seven individuals from accessing the @realDonaldTrump Twitter feed. The court agreed with the Knight Institute stating, “[Trump] is not entitled to censor selected users because they express views with which he disagrees.” (2)
Another option for getting started is reaching out to established political groups and organizations. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and The American Conservative Union (ACU) are among the oldest and have established track records for advocating in a variety of ways for numerous causes.
<aside> 💡 Wikipedia is a great starting point for finding political organizations that fit your cause: