Author: Gail Ravnitzky Silberglied

Skilled and strategic leader and communicator with experience as a Capitol Hill Chief of Staff, nonprofit Executive Director, Legislative Director, and Vice President for Government Relations and Communications at a leading national trade organization. Extensive experience as an advocate, writer, and editor. Proud mom of 3.
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The Film That Changed Me

February 1, 2021–Black History Month begins today and students around the country will likely learn about some of the well-known heroes of the civil rights movement such as Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman.

But I hope older kids—and adults—will take a deeper dive.  For me, my real education about Black History began about four years ago when I saw Ava DuVernay’s incredible documentary film 13th which details the systemic racism that created and sustained a pipeline to prison for so many African Americans.

If you haven’t seen this film, make a plan to see it this month.  It opened my eyes.  It broke my heart.  And it changed me.

We all learned about slavery and the end of slavery in America.  But how many of us learned what happened next?  About convict leasing, Jim Crow laws, mass incarceration, and the deliberate attempt to create, as discussed in the film, a mythology of black criminality and a presumption of dangerousness and guilt for Black Americans.

Watch this film to learn about mandatory minimums, “three strikes and you’re out” laws, the 1994 crime bill, and how and why crack cocaine came to be treated differently than powder cocaine.

Watch this film to understand why, as Barack Obama points out in the film, the United States is home to 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners.

Watch this film to get acquainted with the stories of Emmitt Till, the (exonerated) Central Park 5, Willie Horton, Trayvon Martin, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, Kalief Browder, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald, Jason Harrison, Eric Courtney Harris, and Philando Castile.

Watch this film to learn how President Trump contributed to an increase in bullying and violence among young people.  (For example when he said, “I’d like to punch him in the face…In the old days he’d be carried out in a stretcher…in the ‘good old days.’”)

Watch this film to learn about the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) which writes state-level legislation that, among other sinister things (like “Stand Your Ground” laws which helped Trayvon Martin’s killer to be acquitted), led to a massive expansion of the prison population.

Watch this film to connect dots of segregation, the racist film “Birth of a Nation,” the “Southern strategy,” and the racist concept of “super-predators.” 

If you are considering watching this film with your child(ren), you should know that this film takes a harsh look at many realities of our nation’s history:  images of hangings and lynchings, children behind bars, protestors being hosed and threatened by dogs, the rape scene in the film 12 Years a Slave which ends with a slap, an image of Fred Hampton’s murder, “KKK” carved into a man’s skin, description of the “limbs and heads” of the Birmingham 4, images of detained immigrant children, maggots in prison food, the N word in songs and descriptions, the brutal beating of Khalief Browder in jail, naked bodies on a prison floor, image of scar tissue on a slave’s back, an image of Emmitt Till’s face in an open casket.  Common Sense Media says this film is appropriate for “mature teens” although I recently showed it to my 12-year-old.  We stopped the film a few times to discuss it.

It pains me that so much of this material was completely new to me.  My American History classes didn’t cover this.  I don’t know how many white people select college classes from the African American Studies department, but I wish I had.  Or maybe the curriculum needs to change so American History tells a more complete story.  Many school districts are rethinking their curriculum to help students become more culturally and racially literate, which is a good step.  

There are other powerful films about equal justice and civil rights, such as Selma, The Hate U Give, Rosewood, Hidden Figures, most of which are appropriate for families to watch together.  Be sure to talk about what they saw and what they learned.  Nelson Mandela called education the most powerful weapon to change the world, and your next family movie night can help give your kids this much-needed education. 

As I work toward becoming a worthy ally to my Black and Brown brothers and sisters, I pledge to continue learning about these issues.  I pledge to teach my children what I never learned.  And I pledge to support candidates and causes—the Equal Justice Initiative, the Bail Project, the Southern Poverty Law Center, among them—that are working to change our very unjust criminal justice system.

Gail Ravnitzky Silberglied founded Speak Up Advocacy to help people advocate more effectively.  She was inspired to get involved with Cory Booker’s 2020 presidential campaign based on these issues.

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12 Takeaways on Virtual Learning

Observations about Virtual Learning after 1st Quarter:

By Gail Ravnitzky Silberglied

As a PTA president and mother of 3 kids in elementary and middle school, I’ve seen and heard a lot about how all-virtual school is going this year.  These are my top 12 takeaways:

  1. There are a lot of tears.  So many of my friends have described that their child frequently erupts in tears.  During the 7th week of online school this Fall, all 3 of my kids cried at one point or another directly related to school.  The kids cried for different reasons, over different issues, at different times during the week.  The math problem is hard, the link doesn’t work, the directions weren’t clear, it’s too much, I hate school, I miss my friends, and I thought I already submitted that assignment.  Most kids are not experienced at advocating for themselves, problem solving, and expressing how they are feeling.  Online school is just really hard.
  2. Everyone is trying their best.  Despite the frequent waterworks, I am not blaming the schools or the teachers at all – they are doing an impossible job that they did not sign up for.  Teachers had to learn a whole new set of online systems and deal with unpredictability of teaching online (see #8)  My hat is off to everyone going above and beyond to support their students.
  3. Some kids don’t have a desk at home.  A kindergarten student was sitting on the floor at home and the teacher asked if the PTA could help get them a desk.  We are fortunate that when we put out the call for desk donations, several families offered to donate one.  One family even offered to purchase a new desk for that child. Other families donated desks, chairs, and school supplies in October during our PTA’s Donation Drive.  You can help make sure every child has a desk by supporting the organization Desks by Dads, which builds very basic desks.  They are making them as fast as they can but they can’t keep up with the requests they receive.
  4. “Normalcy” is key.  Yeah, “normalcy” has to be in quotes  because nothing feels normal right now.  But anything the schools can do to keep things “normal” is very important:  virtual sports, morning announcements, bus patrol training, instrumental music, student government, clubs, birthday celebrations, and much more.  These are vital opportunities to keep kids engaged, and will be important so the kids don’t feel that they missed important opportunities when they reflect back on this year. 
  5. We are headed for a real mental health crisis.   Some kids are actually doing well but so many are suffering.  For many, school is not only their place of learning, they also receive meals, emotional support, speech therapy, and much more.  And for some kids, being at home in multiple Zoom classes per day is not fun.  They are sad, angry, frustrated, and hopeless.  Nine months feels like forever.  They’ve missed school events, recess, field trips, classroom parties, and just laughing with friends.  The isolation is especially acute for children without siblings.  The rates of child abuse and neglect, suicide and suicidal ideation, and domestic violence have exponentially increased, and the typical intervention strategies are greatly limited while children are not in school buildings.  School counseling is woefully underfunded already in schools, with a typical caseload of about 600:1 (instead of 250:1 as recommended by the American School Counselor Association).  When we return to school, students will need extensive support to deal with PTSD, learning loss, re-learning school routines, and more.  This will take resources.
  6. Do you know where your child is?  First-quarter report cards came online November 24, and I suspect there were some surprises.  Did you know your child missed (or skipped) some days of school?  Were there some grades of “M” for missing data?  If you haven’t been following your child’s progress online (or even if you’ve been trying to), you might not have known if they’ve fallen behind in their schoolwork.  Some schools did not hold parent-teacher conferences, so the opportunities to connect at school have been limited.  But teachers seem more than willing to discuss your child’s progress or challenges, so parents should not hesitate to reach out and ask for a meeting.
  7. Navigating multiple programs and platforms.  MCPS students are learning to navigate dozens of programs and platforms.  There’s StudentVue (which is the same as ParentVue and Synergy).  And there’s Canvas (which is the same as MyMCPS).  Then there’s Benchmark, Kahoot, Nearpod, Pear Deck, Quizlet, Epic, Brainpop, Powtoon, and Kami.  And to top it off, the way I understand it, kids have to check modules, announcements, and voluminous emails (even for elementary students!).  For weeks, one of my kids wasn’t opening the emails where teachers were reminding about assignments.  I guess I should be grateful for all the online resources, but I wonder how our kids are learning to use them and how the teachers keep track of it all.  My kids have school-issued Chromebook tablets that could be “written” on with their finger.  But I’ve observed my kids creating text boxes during math equations to write their answers.  Sometimes the on-screen navigation – doing long division, for example – leads them to lose their place and make a mistake.  (Make a text box, type the equation, make a text box, divide first number, multiply, make another text box, subtract, make another text box, bring down the next number, text box, repeat).
  8. Screen time limits are pointless, or at least hard to enforce.  If you’ve been tracking or monitoring your child’s screen time, good for you!  But if your kid does school in their bedroom, and you have, say, a job that requires you to leave your kids to their own devices (literally) for at least part of the day, it is hard to monitor what goes on in their room.  They can say “I’m doing my homework” even if they are doing something else.  I’ve also heard of a few kids playing video games on their school-issued Chromebook during class.  (Note to kids:  Yelling “Let’s Go! You die, you die, you die!!!“ is a dead giveaway.)
  9. Bedtime?  What’s a bedtime?  When the list of “What’s In/What’s Out” list is written for 2020, I suggest the new word is Asynchronous (which is the time our kids are supposed to be doing school work independently).  The word that is out is: Bedtime.  School starts at 9am, and there’s no rush to the bus stop, so maybe going to bed doesn’t seem to be as high a priority as having some fun family time.  A friend recently told me that she went by her teenager’s room at almost midnight to say goodnight and her daughter was on the phone with a friend!  Do any kids still have a bedtime and is it possible to enforce this?  The experts say that keeping a regular sleep routine is essential for our kids’ educational success.  But I give myself a C- on this one.  
  10. Quiet space is a premium, and a luxury.  Avoiding background noise can be challenging at home.  At my house, a 3-story townhouse, all 5 of us have a dedicated corner of the house where we do our work.  And we still have those moments where there’s a loud phone call, a home repair, road work, loud trucks, leaf blowers, or it’s time for percussion class.  I have gone into my car a few times to ensure I wouldn’t be interrupted on a phone call.  I’m sure that some kids have trouble paying attention and participating in class if it’s noisy at home.  Some parents share a desk or table with a child because they need to assist their child with logging into class.  Having your child as a coworker is hard.  Many families don’t have the luxury of dedicated space for each student, or are not available at home to provide support.  At the beginning of the school year, some families hired a private teacher or formed a learning pod.  That’s great for them, but not financially possible for most families.  Educational inequity is not new, but virtual learning has made things much worse.  Equity hubs at schools can help.
  11. Food insecurity is real for so many families.  Montgomery County Public Schools has done a good job providing numerous local sites where families can pick up free meals for all kids under 18.  But still many families are reluctant to seek help, even when their budgets are tight and kids are hungry.  With so many families experiencing food insecurity (being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food) for the first time in their lives, I hope this issue will be tackled once and for all at all levels of government.  In the meantime, donate to the Manna Food Center, Montgomery County’s premier food bank, the Capital Area Food Bank, which notes that 1 out of 10 residents in the Washington metropolitan region is food insecure, or Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks and 60,000 other food resources across the country.  Distance learning is hard enough as it is.  Attempting to learn while hungry is next to impossible.
  12. Resilience, sacrifice, and gratitude as curriculum.  “Learning loss” is a concern, and for many kids it will take a tremendous amount of support – and resources – to get them back on track academically.  But for many, this is a year of learning about overcoming adversity, being resilient, understanding antibodies and immunity, and making sacrifices.  And maybe we will all emerge from this pandemic with greater appreciation toward teachers, first responders, grocery clerks, delivery drivers, and our elderly parents and grandparents who we haven’t seen in nearly a year. 

These takeaways are based on my personal experience.  Other issues are top of mind for families, including the lack of opportunity to play high school sports (and the potential impact on college scholarships); the challenges faced by English-language learners and their families; the immense challenge of providing the services indicated in IEPs; the extra burden of families on the front lines; and the physical and emotional toll of battling COVID itself.

Nine months after school shut down, my 11-year-old says she can’t remember life before COVID.  Maybe that’s not a bad thing.  I am hopeful that our kids will return to an education system reimagined, with an emphasis on individualized learning, addressing learning loss, tailoring lessons to the various ways that kids learn (some kids are thriving in remote learning – will this remain an option for students?), repairing the significant social and emotional damage done during the pandemic, and providing an increased level of support for the heroic teachers and school counselors out there.  This will all take a great deal of resources, but is essential to the success of our students and future of our nation.

Gail Ravnitzky Silberglied is the founder of Speak Up Advocacy, which is dedicated to helping people and nonprofits advocate effectively.  She serves as PTA president at her local elementary school, and chairs a committee on virtual learning for the Montgomery County Council of PTAs. The views expressed here are her own.

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A Tale of Two Capitol Hill Offices

“He always saw you and made you feel special and worthy.”  

Watching the funeral of civil rights icon John Lewis, I was struck by the words of his Deputy Chief of Staff Jamila Thompson, who eulogized the Congressman.

It’s no surprise that she painted a picture of a man – and a Capitol Hill office – where people were treated with respect and dignity.  “When he came into the office every day, he greeted every single staffer, every intern, every fellow with ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Day’.”  She added, “He created a fellowship.  He made us better.”

I spent 11 years on Capitol Hill, and had close interactions with dozens of members of Congress.  While few come close to the giant of a man we lost to pancreatic cancer this year, for the most part, Capitol Hill is filled with earnest members of Congress and intensely hardworking staff who truly want to improve the lives of their constituents.  Capitol Hill offices may differ on public policy, but dedication and sacrifice are required to put up with long hours, relatively low pay, constant competing priorities, and – sometimes – seemingly unreasonable demands from the boss.

The same week John Lewis was eulogized by three former presidents, a very different member of Congress went to the White House to fly to Texas for an event.  When Congressman Louie Gohmert learned that day he tested positive for Coronavirus, he returned to his Capitol Hill office and shared the news with his staff.  In person.  Apparently without a mask.

Congressional staff on both sides of the aisle were rightly outraged.  They deserve better.

Discretion is paramount is handling certain Capitol Hill matters.  But COVID-19 is a life-or-death matter, so I understand why one of Congressman Gohmert’s aides told Jake Sherman of Roll Call Newspaper:  “Jake, thank you for letting our office know Louie tested positive for the Coronavirus,” wrote the staff member.  

I’m not sure of the exact timing, but it sounds like that staff member learned about the diagnosis from the media.

In fact, the staff reportedly noted, Gohmert “requires full staff to be in the office, including three interns, so that ‘we could be an example to America on how to open up safely.’…When probing the office, you might want to ask how often people were berated for wearing masks.”

It takes a supreme level of disgust with your boss to go public like that.  But in this case, it’s totally understandable.  

As Anna Palmer reported in Politico, “Now, legislative aides, chiefs of staff, press assistants, members of Congress, career workers and maintenance men and women are venting their fury with an institution that does not have uniform rules or masking requirements, does not mandate testing, is run with minimal oversight and must contend with a gaggle of lawmakers who doubt scientists…”

And it’s not just Gohmert’s office.  “Our office has been required to be fully staffed since session resumed at the end of June (including an intern),” a scheduler for a House Republican member reportedly said. “While mask use isn’t banned, it’s also not encouraged, and has been derided on several occasions by the [chief of staff] and the member.”

Some may note the irony that staff in some Republican offices complain of working in unsafe conditions, while their bosses vote to roll back workplace protections and fail to provide adequate protective equipment to front line health care workers.  But I digress…

For now, I will leave you with inspiring words from Jamila Thompson’s eulogy:  “If asked how you may honor the congressman…you can make sure that his message, his work, his sacrifice lives on.  And that there are actions that every person can do regardless of their age or their station in life.  Be kind.  Be mindful.  Recognize the dignity and the worth of every human being.  Be the best version of yourself.  Be informed.  Stay engaged even though the work is hard.  And if you are of age, and eligible, for the love of God, please vote.”

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The Countdown to Jeremy’s Bar Mitzvah…

May 21, 2020

In 100 days, we will celebrate Jeremy’s Bar Mitzvah.  We have been counting down for 40 months – yes, over three years – since we first learned that August 29, 2020 is when Jeremy would read from the Torah and become a Jewish adult.  Our little Jeremy is (nearly) all grown up.

Our synagogue, B’nai Israel Congregation in Rockville, Maryland, is doing nearly all services online at this time, including Zoom Bar Mitzvahs, Zoom Shiva calls, and Zoom Minyans.  So while we hope to have all our family and friends at the temple for this important day, we are thinking of new ways to mark this special day.

We invite you to do one or more of these things to celebrate Jeremy’s accomplishment:

  1. Record a short video congratulating Jeremy.  We will compile these videos and present it to Jeremy as a reminder of all the love and support he had on this special day.  You can do this as a group or individually; you can make it serious or funny; you can recall your own Bar/Bat Mitzvah; you can tell him you are proud of him; or just say congratulations or Mazel Tov.  (Shh…we are hoping to get a few celebrity hellos into this video, so let us know if you have connections to help us make that happen.). Please send your video no later than August 18 to gailandsteve117@yahoo.com.
  2. Do a mitzvah (good deed) in Jeremy’s honor.  In the 100 days leading up to his Bar Mitzvah, Jeremy will do one mitzvah each day, and we encourage you to do a mitzvah in Jeremy’s honor.  Learn more about mitzvot here:  https://pjlibrary.org/mitzvah.  Some examples are:  calling an elderly relative/friend/neighbor, going on a nature walk and picking up trash, recycling or composting, or donating unused clothes or toys.
  3. Make a donation to SportsPlus.  When Jeremy was very young, he participated in an inclusive, adaptive, sports program.  Jeremy is now volunteering with the program.  SportsPlus, a local Maryland nonprofit, is working to transition its adaptive sports program to an online format to continue serving kids with disabilities during the pandemic.  This is such a good cause, and we are so happy that Jeremy chose to support SportsPlus as his Mitzvah project.  You can make a tax-deductible donation in Jeremy’s honor here:   https://playsportsplus.org/Donate

Thank you for helping us make this event memorable for Jeremy.  And please SAVE THE DATE and plan to celebrate with us the morning of Saturday, August 29, 2020.  Everyone is welcome, and the Zoom link (if necessary) will follow.

Let us know if you have any questions and thank you for supporting Jeremy!

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5 Things to Do the Day After an Election

Congratulate the winners.

They’ve spent hours on the campaign trail.  They’ve sacrificed time with their families.  They’ve likely lost a lot of sleep.  And now they are preparing for the job of representing you.  That means they’ll have to get up to speed quickly on a wide range of issues affecting your community.  So reach out and congratulate those who will be representing you.  Remember, you are an expert in your field.  Your expertise is invaluable to elected officials, especially those who are newly taking office.  Briefly introduce yourself and your organization, and suggest meeting to discuss how your organization can help them in their efforts to serve your community.

Reach out to everyone who ran for office.

Everyone loves a winner, but those who run for office and fall short in the voting booth are important, too.  They took a chance, sacrificed their time, and most importantly, they were willing to serve.  And who knows, they may come back next election and win—in which case you’ll need to reach out to them anyway.  There’s no harm in thanking them for running, acknowledging their willingness to serve, and welcoming them to learn more about your organization.  Perhaps they are a future supporter, donor, board member, or volunteer in the making?

Thank people for voting.

Some nonprofit organizations are afraid of participating in any election-related activities to avoid any conflicts with their 501(c) tax-exempt status.  That’s an understandable, albeit cautious approach.  In fact, you may be missing opportunities to engage your community in ways that are perfectly legitimate and fully aligned with your mission.  Encouraging people to vote (as long as you aren’t telling people who to vote for) is your civic responsibility.  The art of sending a Thank You message is largely overlooked these days, making your message even more noticed and appreciated.

Go public.

Make a public statement to reiterate your organization’s mission.  Be specific about how local elected officials have been helpful in the past, and the concrete steps they can take now to show their support.  Use social media to circulate your message.  Ask your local newspaper to publish your statement.  Keep it positive and non-political.  Remember that you exist to serve your community, and your community deserves to hear from you about your successes and challenges.

Put “Election Follow Up” on your next Board Meeting Agenda.

This is a great opportunity to jumpstart your advocacy.  You can ask a Board Member to lead this discussion, or you can invite Speak Up Advocacy to help you.  We can share election results that are most relevant to your organization, play some “networking geography,” and determine tangible next steps to introduce your organization to new elected officials and re-introduce your organization to those who may not be as familiar with how you serve your community.

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10 Things to Say to Your Aging Parents

A lot of attention is rightly being paid to nursing home residents at risk of COVID-19.  But there’s another risk:  the isolation and loneliness of aging parents who are home alone.  Your parents are increasingly vulnerable to scammers, especially if they are using social media, shopping online, or arranging for the first time home deliveries of groceries or medicine.

My aging mother – an active, educated woman in her 80s – recently had all her personal data compromised when she shopped online at a fake website that she thought was Jockey.com.

It has been an ongoing challenge to sort everything out, and she remains at risk.  So please learn from her mistake and talk to you aging parents about these 10 things:

  1. I’m telling you these things because I care about you and don’t want anything bad to happen to you.  Between new technologies and pandemic precautions, it’s a scary – and lonely – world out there right now for aging parents.  Tell them that studies have shown that fraud is increasing during the pandemic and you want them to be prepared.
  2. Don’t share personal information on Facebook.  Taking quizzes (“Which superhero are you?”, posting old photos, and sharing any personal information can make you vulnerable on the internet.
  3. When shopping online, be sure you’re on the right website. For example, if you aren’t on target.com, then you might be on a shadow site, where you may think you are placing an order but someone is actually scamming you, getting your credit card number and additional information.
  4. If someone contacts you asking for money, be suspicious.  The fake story might be “your granddaughter was in an accident and we need a credit card number to ensure payment for her treatment” or “you owe a tax payment and you could go to jail if you don’t pay.”  Verify any unusual requests from friends or family members.  A scammer could pretend to be your friend and ask you for help.  This is a very widespread problem:  At my local elementary school, our PTA treasurer gets requests all the time from people pretending to be a PTA board member and asking for gift cards, bank account info, etc.  It’s shameful that PTAs are targeted.  And it’s even more shameful that seniors are targeted.  Don’t fall for it.
  5. Better to be firm than nice.  Scammers may use charm, intimidation, or fear as a technique to gain your parent’s trust.  Does your aging parent feel obliged to be polite, even to a stranger on the phone or over email?  Tell them that these days, it’s okay to tell a stranger who calls you, “I’m not interested. Please take me off your list.”  It’s not being rude, it’s being safe.
  6. NEVER give anyone access to your computer!  This is a big one, and it is surprisingly easy for someone to talk your aging parent into clicking on a link which will give them access to your computer and help them fix whatever “problem” they’ve identified.
  7. If you do get tricked or scammed, please tell me.  It’s an upsetting and embarrassing thing to go through, and your aging parent knows you might be mad or disappointed in them.  But they are also likely disappointed in themselves.  So make them promise to come to you if something happens.  (Or if they aren’t sure if what they just did was legit – you can try to help them sort it out.). Then, you keep your end of the bargain by being supportive and empathic, and making a plan to safeguard their private information (including contacting banks, freezing your credit, changing credit card numbers and passwords).
  8. Don’t be intimidated by telemedicine.  My mom had a cardiology appointment that she cancelled because telemedicine did not make sense to her.  “How would they examine me?,” she wondered.  But don’t be intimidated.  It’s important to keep regular check-ups and make plans for needed procedures and tests.
  9. If you get scammed, you will continue to be victimized.  The follow up scam attempts will been brazen and constant because, essentially, you’ll wind of the informal “suckers list” and multiple people will continue to victimize you.  Let your friends and family know to be suspicious of any messages from “you” asking for money or help.  
  10. I’m sorry.  (Also: I forgive you.)  I know, this seems off topic.  But anger and resentment aren’t healthy emotions, and for some of us, we won’t see our aging parents in person for a very long time, if ever again.  Try using these words: “This global pandemic has given me new perspective on life, and I hope we can put all our disagreements behind us.”  Sometimes you just need the words to make things right.

There are lots of other things you should discuss with your aging parents – including living wills, caregiving preferences, and where key documents are located.  These are all important, productive conversations to have with your aging parents.  (As a bonus, consider a living history interview.  Because my kids are learning remotely during this pandemic, we conducted a living history interview with my 85-year-old father, and learned about his life growing up and his time in the U.S. Army.)  

Right now, thousands of scammers are looking for a new victim.  Remind your aging parents of the risks of using technology – early and often – so it won’t be them.

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When (Jury) Duty Calls…

Civic Duty is defined as “the responsibility of a citizen” and recently I fulfilled one of our nation’s great civic responsibilities: serving on a jury. 

It was my first time serving, and while it took me away from work and family responsibilities, I really didn’t mind. It was actually interesting, both the subject matter and the process (so different from Law & Order!). But more importantly, I knew I was performing an important civic duty. 

For me, awareness of civic duty started very early. My very first memory is from age three when I went to vote with my mom (I remember that my older brothers had to wait outside because they were for the other guy!). And while I don’t enjoy every single civic duty (paying taxes comes to mind) I know that these civic duties are the foundation of our nation’s democracy. 

Our nation’s founders included advocacy in the Bill of Rights (“the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”) And isn’t there plenty to be aggrieved about?

Elected officials actually appreciate hearing directly from constituents—it helps them build stronger ties to their community and understand the future needs of their community. (I worked for several members of Congress so I know this from experience.)

If you are not making your case, your viewpoint will often get overlooked when it does (or doesn’t) come up in future policy debates or budget battles.

There’s no time like the present to start making your case and telling your story.