Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

Not sure what to make of it, but I thought of this:
Omar Ahmad: Political change with pen and paper | Video on TED.com

Have you seen it? Have you tried it this way?

Originally Posted by dc_dux

You're probably right about being naive that letters and e-mails make a difference.

I worked as a junior staffer for a Senator and letters from individuals about policy issues had little impact.

To impact policy, you, as an individual, need to be part of a larger coalition in the community/district/state that your elected representative cant ignore...i.e. a meaningful voting block.

When I was a lobbyist for a public interest group (after the Senate stint), we were able to compete with the big donors by organizing local coalitions. In our particularly case, the base of the coalition were mayors and county executive in the district...we also reached out to other community leaders (working with other groups), depending on the issue. We organized them, gave them talking points and they made phone calls or visits to the Senator (or at least a top staff person).

We didnt win as much as we would have liked, but we were heard.

As an individual, what you should expect and demand from your elected representatives are responsive constituent services...when you have problems with the federal government or federal programs, they should absolutely be there to help.