This action is as old as democracy itself. Letting elected representatives and other officials know how you feel about the things they’re doing and planning is essential. Research shows that it only takes about 3.5% of the population actively participating in protests to ensure serious political change, often less. That’s about 11 million people – total – counting all the events held across the country. Some examples are showing up:
- In public for peaceful demonstrations
- At town hall meetings with candidates
- At office encounters with candidates and officials, either invited or uninvited
- At government agencies and departments that are involved in current legislation
- On line or via Zoom for virtual town hall meetings
Public Demonstrations
These are even more important when your party is in the minority in congress. Maintaining attention and publicity on what the opposition is doing is even more critical in this situation.
When you’re out with a group of protestors the positive attention you garner is great reinforcement for you and a lot of people in cars pull out their cell phones and take pictures and videos. This ‘multiplier effect’ makes what you’re doing that much more important.
Another benefit to showing up is meeting like-minded individuals and learning more about issues and about other events.
If you can write a quick summary of something troubling that the administration is doing, with links to supporting articles or documents, please let us know through our Contact page.
If you like what we’re doing and can help out, please let us know about events in your area, organizations you support and especially, about information we should be sharing.
Where to SHOW UP
Indivisible – Indivisible is an excellent source of information about protecting our democracy and the organization is nationwide and well known. They provide great info on events you can participate in plus details about contacting your congressional reps, communicating to the press, neighbors and other groups.
Mobilize – This is a website platform for posting events that typically shows numerous events in your home state.
50501 – The name 50501 stands for 50 States, 50 Protests, 1 Movement. This is an organization involved in civic action events and their website is perhaps the best place to find opportunities to SHOW UP.
Boycotting
Boycotts have been a mainstay of direct action by people (or consumers) for decades. Click here for more information on current boycotts.