tell your politicians.

Politics is the process of making decisions on behalf of groups of people.  In the most ideal manifestation of  it, the decisions serves us.  Politicians are paid to represent our interests, and, ideally, are responsible to us for their successes or failures at it.  Too often people can feel that government is something that happens to them instead of because of them.   Less true in places like Canada, or the United States, more true in some places like Sudan.

Another dangerous idea is that our elected representatives know better than we do what is best for us.  Mostly, because they are so outnumbered, they do not.  They need a dialogue with us that goes beyond public opinion polls, and last longer than the months around an election.

Simply, they need our help.  For those who believe that the issue of Sudan is a pressing one, that focused attention on peaceful solutions would  alleviate suffering for large groups of innocent people, write your politicians, and tell them.

Australia

Canada

United Kingdom

United States of America

These four are a modest list.  There are other countries to be added, and if one of them is yours, post them.

There are many things I don’t know about political dialogue.  For instance: sending a letter to my MP is free,and requires no postage.  This is a longer list of simple rules on writing letters to one’s politicians, and you can browse them.  The most important are these:

• face-to-face is better than a handwritten letter is better than a typed letter is better than email

• be brief and focused (less than one page)

• use your own words about why the issue is important and what clear action you are hoping for

• ask for a response.

If you want to focus somewhere, one place might be questioning your politicians on a lack of public dialogue on Sudan and how Canada is supporting a peaceful secession, particularly around the troubled region of Abyei.

Political solutions are slow, but if we can get them  mentioned by our politicians, turn bright minds from domestic matters outwards, even for a short time, then we might find a peaceful solution that would otherwise remain hidden.  And, trust, should the pieces continue to tumble down, there will only be more of them to pick up.