Making an Impact, Part II

Most of us operate under the assumption that members of the U. S. Congress are elected by votes in their home district or state and that the Congressional Representative or Senator listens to the citizens who elected him/her.  We believe that the member of Congress feels a responsibility to these same people so he/she will get re-elected, or simply because they told us in their campaigns that they feel a moral obligation to do what’s right for the constituency.

If the Harvard Kennedy research assumption is true, that we have little voice in what is passed in any of our governments, what then can we do? Let’s not believe the research. Let’s not believe we have little to no influence. Let’s double up on our contacts with our representatives, no matter who they are or where they serve. We must continue to believe that our elected officials really are interested in us, that they will listen to us because we voted for them and that we have influence on them because they were born, raised and educated alongside many of us. They were our classmates, they worked and raised their families in our midst and they know what we need as well as we do.

Let’s not “take this lying down!” All women educators must continue to reach out, contact our representatives at whatever level of government is needed, and remind them that we are their constituents.  Our votes and our voices do count, and we are important to the community and to elected officials. We must speak out about relevant proposals and measures.