Find out who represents you in the US Senate and House of Representatives as well as in your state legislature. It’s easy to look them up with the Find your Elected Officials tool created by Common Cause and the Sunlight Foundation.
Make note of who your representatives are. Take a few moments to find out how they have voted on immigration, education, reproductive rights, environmental policy, health care, protection of marginalized groups, and other critical issues.
Most importantly, make note of their addresses and phone numbers. Bookmark them in your browser and program them into your phone. The only way they’ll be responsive to us is if we start putting our concerns in front of them.
Image: Library of Congress
Shannon E. Williams 
Note 1: I am working backwards in time through my reader -so I assume there is a post coming somewhere down the line that sets this one up.
Note 2: For decades I have been convinced that people simply don’t know how responsive their senators and representatives are when citizens contact them directly. Just last summer, when I was having trouble with my daughter’s visa, my sister called up our rep’s office to ask for help. She got a quick response and a request to make an appointment. Any official who starts getting hundreds of calls and emails on any particular issue will be affected.
People who keep telling us that all politicians/bureaucrats are alike/corrupt/power-hungry/ deaf etc. etc. are really trying to keep us from exercising our democratic power of making our voices heard. They are saying “government doesn’t work, so don’t even bother”.
I am tired of cynicism.
That’s why I like your post so much.
Thanks so much. It’s amazing how close they are yet how distant we allow ourselves to be from them.