facebook-pixel

Letter: Congress represents those who take the trouble to be represented

(Samuel Corum | The New York Times) The Capitol Building in Washington, Jan. 26, 2021.

I don’t see myself as a missionary for climate change but as a purveyor of useful information. I don’t need to sell people on climate change; it’s advertising itself just fine. I’m not going to argue with you about it. I’m simply letting you know, that if you are concerned about climate change, you can contact your members of Congress right here and now, if you’d like, or later at your convenience, and let them know that their constituents are getting clobbered by climate change on multiple fronts. It’s costing us real money. It’s costing us our health. It’s costing us our future.

“Contact Congress?” people tell me and smile at my naivety. “What good could that possibly do? Congress is not the least interested in you and me.” But has one ever tried contacting Congress repeatedly, regularly, and in concert with thousands of others who have the same concerns? You know? Perhaps Congress represents those who take the trouble to show up to be represented, who to date have been the big boys with the boatloads of cash. Perhaps, if we participated in our democracy, it might start representing us. It has worked before. One thing we have going for us: We’re not trying out democracy for the first time. It has worked in the past. Perhaps Congress needs a bit of maintenance, repair (passing HR1, the For the People Act would be a good start) and public participation and it could work for us again.

Charles Ashurst, Logan

Submit a letter to the editor