Actions Speak Louder Than Words
The political sphere and life in general is defined more by action than speech. Actions build movements, start revolutions, and in the end get the work done that needs to be completed. Previous to this year, I had not acted in politics. I wasn’t well informed about politics either. Through my government class, I received the opportunity to improve my knowledge and experience within the political sphere. Through volunteering with two local political organizations, I learned to take action in politics and therefore see a world I haven’t seen before.
The first organization I worked with was Citizen’s Climate Lobby. I first learned about this opportunity from Amy Bennett, who visited our class to inform us about her organization. Citizen’s Climate Lobby works through writing letters to newspapers, meeting with members of Congress, and various public gatherings to enact effective climate legislation. After hearing her speech, I was a little intimidated by the workload. However, the subject matter seemed interesting. I eventually decided to follow up on what turned out to be an excellent experience. My first assignment with the organization was learning about California’s senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and my local Representative, Susan Davis. I studied up on their stances on environmental legislation, business, and jobs. The most important thing I learned through this assignment was that Barbara Boxer was the most understanding of Citizen’s Climate Lobby’s ideals and agenda.
This is why I chose to write a letter to her for another assignment. In October, Citizen’s Climate Lobby organized a movement called the Million Letter March. Congress has been resistant to working on climate change legislation since the downfall of cap and trade. This movement was meant to show that the American public wants environmental reform. The group set a high benchmark that a million hand-written letters would be sent to members of Congress. Unfortunately, the official tally on the website is 403 letters. However, there were some problems some encountered with registering their letter on the website. I sent my letter in to Barbara Boxer. It tastefully and appreciatively acknowledges the importance of climate change legislation. In the digital age, my hand written letter will stand out. This was the point of this movement. The numbers may not work in our favor, but those who did send in letters made an impact.
The impact of carbon emissions on our planet is hard to ignore. The science works in the group’s favor, but many in politics are still skeptical about the facts. Officially, the group is non-partisan, but the truth is that not many Conservatives support climate change legislation. This means that Republican politicians are the ones that Citizen Climate must spend the most time on trying to persuade. Many Republicans just don’t want too much legislation, or too radical of changes to our system. One idea called the Fee and Dividend keeps this in mind. It places a fee for carbon polluting at the source (i.e. mine, factory, oil well), and distributes it amongst all Americans. It is speculated that this received benefit would give citizens more than will be required for raised energy costs. This reform requires far less legislation than the infamous Cap and Trade bill, and has gained the support of Conservative members of Congress. As part of my volunteership, I responded to an article in the LA Times about the current situation for environmental legislation. I mentioned the Fee and Dividend plan in that letter. My hope is that the summary of this reform reaches as many people as possible.
However, I realized through my volunteership that it is very challenging to persuade the skeptics of global warming that it is actually important. One article I read really put this message into perspective. The article is called As The World Burns by Danielle Vogel. It was written for the New Yorker. It tells the story of Lindsey Graham, Joseph Lieberman, and John Kerry trying to pass their own alternative carbon cutting bill to the controversial Cap and Trade option. They spent years forming a monstrous bill and gained the support of numerous congress members including John McCain. They even persuaded some of America’s biggest polluters to sign on with it. The problem was the press. Political analysts started criticizing it as it gained steam. Soon enough, it was all over the news and suggested to be too much reform for us. Initial supporters turned their back, alliances dissolved, and with the disaster and cap and trade, the prospect of federal legislation on climate change seems unlikely. However, California recently voted no on Proposition 23, which is a big victory for environmental supporters.
Unfortunately, my volunteership with Citizens’ Climate Lobby was cut short. It ended in November, leaving me with 26 hours. In an attempt to finish the total number required, I called up Donna Orlando-Ward asking for a chance to work with the Libertalia Foundation. I knew I would be working in Microsoft Excel for an up and coming organization. However, I didn’t know much else. After several weeks of technical and scheduling difficulties, I finally went in to the organization’s location: Café Libertalia in Hillcrest. I learned from Donna that the organization opens the space in their cafe for various libertarian organizations to use. They have also placed a large order for economic and political books that will build a vast library. I ended up doing 2 tasks for the prospective library. I looked up the value of every book on Amazon, and compiled an Excel document with those values so that the organization would know how much they could resell books for. When I was done with this, I started assembling a book shelf they bought. I left the organization with the bookshelf half finished. Because of time restrictions and more important commitments, I was not able to make it back to the café. However, I heard the bookshelf was completed by another employee.
All in all, volunteership was a unique an interesting experience. I saw the workings of two political organizations first hand, and even received the chance to hear a Senator speak at an organization phone conference. This experience was the catalyst I needed to help me become knowledgeable about politics. I would advise anyone in future classes to make the most out of this excellent opportunity.
