I remember watching the DNC earlier this year. There were shirts and signs that read " DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT", and I don't quite know why, but it stuck with me, and I had to think about it. It sure does get treated like a sport. The GOP breaks the rules, commits fouls, and Democrats act like there's a referee in Congress who's going to throw a flag every time the GOP breaks a rule or makes an irregular play. And what I have come to realize is that we the public are supposed to be the referees. And regardless of team, we have to be the ones blowing whistles, throwing flags, and reviewing plays.

Since the election, I've decided to become a regular thorn in the sides of my elected officials, on both sides of the aisle. Through research I've settled on sending letters. Good old-fashioned letters on real paper, delivered via the postal service. Typed, usually. Handwritten, if I want it to be more personal. And I'll send multiple copies of the same letter to their offices in my State and to their offices at the Capitol, addressed to them directly. This last bit is important because since it's a federal offense to open correspondence and packages not addressed to you, and no staffer or intern wants to risk their job by opening letters addressed to their bosses, it's guaranteed that the officials themselves will read them. Sure, the staffers might be the ones sending the responses, but that doesn't mean my Senator or Representative never saw it. And since the same letter is at all their offices, this increases the chance of it being read. They're gonna think "Holy shit, this guy really wants me to listen to what he's got to say!"

You see, despite their efforts to get us to believe otherwise, our politicians are not beyond our reach. They do respond to public pressure, occasionally. I'm convinced that if more people did as I'm going to do, they'd listen more to us and less to their corporate friends and lobbyists.