How valuable is your time? Are you making good use of your efforts?
No matter how you feel about Edward Snowden, one thing most agree on is how much his actions mattered. President Obama skillfully admitted this fact recently, when he ‘decided’ to try to rewrite a section of the Patriot Act and declassify more security documents. The point is: actions matter, even if they seem like small things at first.
Another example is with one man who has been a thorn in the side of Texas legislators by pointing out some of their cronyism and corruption on his website. The establishment politicians crafted special legislation to deal with him, but they failed to get it passed.
If it is unreasonable to expect a single action to get results on the order as the two described above, what level of results is needed to make your efforts worthwhile? Nobody wants to feel like their time and efforts are wasted, so how can a person continue forward if results are hard to measure?
The answer is: Act on principles and use a little common sense.
One possible solution is by providing transparency and publicity to the actions of our elected officers. Another possible solution is researching issues and providing sound advice to the elected officers. The North Texas Citizens Lobby is trying to be successful in both of these areas, and welcomes others who agree with our goals and want to make a positive difference.
The group has 3 core work-areas:
- Researchers: review and analyze bills and issues. Create white papers and talking points to be used by the lobby team and communications team.
- Lobbyists will meet with staff and legislators in person to support good legislation and oppose bad legislation.
- Communicators contribute to the effort by interacting with legislators, NTCL members, and un-involved citizens in and around the DFW metroplex to educate and advance the goals of the organization.
What Can One Person Do?
It is possible for one person to make meaningful differences. History is full of examples of this. Odds of being effective are increased when efforts are multiplied by joining others with similar goals. Odds are increased further when your actions are part of a well-thought-out plan that has shown to have good results in the past.
Sign up on the right-hand side of the website to keep up with the efforts of NTCL, and consider contributing personally to the efforts of a group working to make positive change. Contact NTCL to let us know you want to help!
Making a difference is right!
I learned a lot in Austin during the 83rd legislature but the most invigorating boost is when I see certain legislators begin to listen to us and change their style of voting.
Keep up the good work Brian.