Beyond the Vote...

Hey Y'all...

I have seen several people on Twitter, Facebook, and other blogs clamoring on about this or that in politics. And it IS an election year. I, myself, am not what I would considered "overly" political. Meaning - I keep up with politics, and I have my political views, but generally, I am non-partisan, and I keep my beliefs to myself. I vote. I vote with my civic duty and right as a citizen, I vote with my wallet, I vote with my support and my charity, I vote.

But... it gets muddy. HOW should I vote? Who are the people that represent me at the higher levels of government? Do they really represent ME? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. But the important thing is to KNOW and then to ACT.

As constituents, heck... even as PEOPLE... Please get to know your representatives in local, state, and federal government. Aim to understand thier positions on issues that you care about. Keep a document with all of their contact information on your home computer so you can reach out to them regrading important issues. Encourage your neighbors and your friends to speak up, as well.

• You can get going by looking here: http://www.congress.org/. This is an excellent, non-partisan site that encourages regular folks like me to research and understand what my local and national leaders are doing.
• You can also use helpful things like this: http://congress.org/congressorg/state/main/?state=MS&view=myofficials to determine who your elected officials are. After I found out who mine where, I also created a list on Twitter to follow my national leaders and my local leaders. It's a good way to see a snapshot of what they are putting out there on social media.
• You can also find out YOUR elected official's voting record to help you determine what you need to raise your voice about, and how you need to vote: http://votesmart.org/ I like this site because it shows me the voting record of MY elected officals and helps me know what is going on, how my state legistlature voted, how my representatives at the national level voted, etc.

Cheers,
#JustBeingMichael