born to help asks: How can I make the president feel what the needy people are feeling, when they can’t afford to feed their children?
Hi born to help –
I don’t know what country you live in, but I think this is a great question about leaders of all sorts of places.
Throughout history, societies have picked leaders who they thought would understand the needs of the poor and helpless, and they’ve often been very disappointed, as the leaders become more concerned with other issues. Maybe they’re at war with other groups, or fighting to keep their position, or they’re just enjoying the company of the rich and powerful too much to do anything about the people who put them there.
Today, though, there are more ways than ever before to get those leaders’ attention. As I’m writing this, Mr. Assad in Syria is fighting to keep his office, but there’s no question, he knows the complaints of those who want him out. While we don’t really know if, say, France’s Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette really understood all the complaints of the poor who eventually overturned and beheaded them!
Though even Louis, we know, knew some problems were afoot, and tried to ease them. And that’s my main point here, born to help. Our leaders today do know. What is necessary for all people, as citizens of a particular nation or of the world, is to tell the leaders that we want them to do something about it!
And how to do that? Well:
1) Write them emails
2) Write them letters
3) Call their offices and leave messages
4) Organize a letter-writing campaign so they get a letter signed by a hundred, or a thousand, or ten thousand people
5) If your country’s laws allow it, stage a peaceful demonstration outside their office, with signs, or even chants.
6) Write letters to your local newspaper, that they can print, that will draw attention to your cause
7) Arrange an event that a TV station will want to cover on its news shows.
8) Write to celebrities to try to get them as spokespeople. Today famous entertainers like Bono, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Willie Nelson have done incredible work getting people to pay attention to their causes. And believe me, the world’s leaders have taken note!
9) As long as you’re sure everyone’s safe doing it, stage a peaceful protest. The Occupy movement is a great current example of people making very sure that not only the politicians, but also the financiers of the world, have to take note of policies the protestors feel are unfair to the poor.
10) Use social media. The incredible accomplishments of the Arab Spring, Occupy, and more particular-to-their-country movements like the Tea Party and the Iranian protests have relied on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media forces. These cost nothing to use, and have truly changed the world. A successful campaign that goes “viral” on Facebook simply has to get the attention of leaders.
Truly, born to help, you’ve already done the most important action for any change. You’ve brought it up and asked. Now all you need is to act on your wishes.
The future is yours, my friend. Be peaceful, be loving, and be unstoppable.
Good Luck!
Shirelle