Good People of Daily Kos, hear my plea:
I am a 18-year-old high school senior in Western Massachusetts. I go to a very small (80-90 students) private school.
Recently, several students and I decided to form a small activism and politics group focusing on opposing conflict and advocating nonviolent solutions through the political process. This came about largely as a reaction to the heartening results of the midterm elections in November and more recently the controversy over Bush's "troop surge" and the growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Out of the 80-something students at my school, more than 20 have expressed interest, and we hope to attract more. Political awareness is growing in my generation, and we want to affect some change, if we can. The problem is, we don't really know how...
One thing I've realized over the past few days of organizing this is how little I really know about working for change in the system. I've been a member of Daily Kos for about a year, and this site has been a catalyst in the formation of many of my most deeply held beliefs about the world and public policy. In that time, I have watched as my peers, many of whom were until recently all but oblivious to the news, have matured politically and begun speaking out.
Largely as a result of the success of the Democratic Party in the midterm elections, the interest in participating in the legislative process has dramatically increased. In my generation, the emphasis is no longer so much on staging nude sit-ins on the White House lawn (though that would be fun), and more on writing to Congress and bringing in speakers to educate us on various topics. My schools is made up primarily of boarders from across the U.S. and even around the world (I myself am a Mass. local), and due to a generous financial aid program there is a diversity of race, class and opinion within the school and within our Peace Group.
The question I have for you, dear Kossacks, is what paths should we take to start off our collective journey into Activism-land? In the run-up to the elections I was inspired by field reports from various people who got up and took action, be it knocking on doors or holding fundraisers or lobbying the candidates on certain issues. We want to do the same, but we are confined by the realities of our lives as students away from home and our lack of experience in this field. If we want to write Congress, how do we do it? What other paths are there to influencing policy at the state or national level? If we want to start a petition or submit an idea, how does that start? One advantage to my school's geographic diversity is that many students come from states and districts across the U.S., so we have a wider pull than a group of students from the same area. But most of us don't even know who our Reps and Senators are, or where they are on the Left-Right spectrum.
Many people on this site are old hands at this kind of thing, so I thought I would come to you with my questions. These are just baby steps for us, but we want to flex our little activist muscles here and now, and then carry the fight back home, or to college. We look to you, our elders, in this struggle.
I'll be logging back on periodically throughout today and tomorrow. We have our first formal meeting tonight, at 7-ish EST. I look forwards to hearing your thoughts and ideas.
Peace!
-UPDATE: THANK YOU SO MUCH for this overwhelming response!! This wealth of advice and good wishes is so appreciated.
BTW: We are especially interested on the legislation currently in Congress about the "Surge", such as Sen. Kennedy's resolution or Rep. Walter Jones's Resolution on Iran. Any advice on how we can help push those through?