You Can Be A Lobbyist

At our November general meeting, our guest Monette Richards, president of  CFI Northeast Ohio, gave us some tips and ideas on how to become citizen lobbyists after the recent election.

Richards explained that you really only need to call the local office of your elected officials and make an appointment to speak to them. Some represenatives hold office hours where they meet people without a formal appointment. When you go to the appointment have some talking points to give to the official or their staff.

The thing she stressed is to do it. Big donor money gets a lot of attention and our only way to get through that noise is to personally speak to the elected people or their staffs and let them know what you think.

Richards also said it is good to find established groups that are working on a issue you feel strongly about and join them so you aren’t reinventing the wheel.

She also suggested a book, The Citizen Lobbyist by Amanda Knief and Rev. Barry W. Lynn, as a good primer. And if you need to invent the wheel because there isn’t an established group, the Skeptical Activism Campaign Manual will help start the ball rolling.

SHoWLE member Peggy C. also suggested a website called  5 Calls.

Our next general meeting is December 8th.

We Strongly Condemn The Tree Of Life Synagogue Terrorist Attack

The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie strongly condemns the terrorist attack that happened at the Tree of Life Synagogue this past Saturday.

Our condolences go out to the friends and family of the victims and wish a speedy recovery of those injured.

No one should be singled out, harassed, discriminated against, or subjected to any violence because of their religious beliefs, lack of religious beliefs, or political views.

The murders on Saturday are a prime example why our current political leaders must stop trying to scapegoat a group of people to score cheap political points for their base.

When someone like our President of the United States singles out people he doesn’t like with baseless accusations, it gives cover for others to actually act against members of that same group.

The murders on Saturday, the shooting in Kentucky, and serial mail bombings in recent days shows the terrible side of some in this country. Humanists will continue to work on reducing toxic tribalism and angry nationalism. All of us need to work together to let those who want to do harm know that they will not be welcome and will be resisted.