Introduction
Practicing civil rights is extremely important in a functioning democratic society. Promoting awareness of socially essential issues motivates the government to create new laws to improve the situation. It can be a call, a message, or a general conversation with friends and family. The important part is sharing one’s opinion and the reasoning behind highlighting the chosen topic. This can be illustrated by my experience of contacting Governor Jay Inslee about the issue of climate justice.
Reflection on Political Communication
Sending a well-written message is the most effective way to contact elected officials. To make my message compelling, engaging, and informative, I utilized the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) guide, which presents best practices for writing an effective request (Writing Your Elected Representatives). As the organization suggested, my letter featured the most crucial idea that corporations should be more limited in the acceptable CO2 emission rates, as the current state generates injustice in environmental sustainability. To make it more personal, I introduced myself, stated my beliefs, and presented my history of environmental activism activities.
Drafting and editing the message made me feel more knowledgeable about the topic, as I had to give persuasive arguments and rephrase them to fit the letter. From my experience with civic action, presenting your point of view is essential. Thus, the message was short, concise, and carefully structured to discuss the issue in a brief format that would save the Governor’s time while conveying the scale of the problem.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this engagement with the Governor motivated me to pursue further endeavors in this field. This practice is empowering and should be utilized more often by American citizens. Using this way of communicating with elected representatives is extremely important, as civic action is one of the most effective mechanisms for achieving climate justice. In my experience, the amount of traction and civic engagement the topic gets correlates with the effectiveness of the resulting solutions. Therefore, I will definitely write more messages to other politicians to increase the chances of improving the situation.
Work Cited
“Writing Your Elected Representatives.” American Civil Liberties Union. Web.