Some issues seem too disconnected from every day life to successfully engage activists. Anti-torture advocates find that the key is to make the issue personal and emotional by telling a story.
National religious leaders weighed in today on a new report by Physicians for Human Rights that reveals:
Medical professionals who were involved in the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogations of terrorism suspects engaged in forms of human research and experimentation in violation of medical ethics and domestic and international law (New York Times)
The video highlights the story of Alyssa Peterson, a devout Mormon who became one of the first female American casualties in the Iraq war when she took her own life just days after refusing to participate in interrogation "techniques" being used on naked detainees. The official probe of her death stated: "She did not know how to be two people; she... could not be one person in the cage and another outside the wire."
This is a good example of how on issues that sometimes seem far removed from every day life (it's not jobs, it's not taxes), a personal connection can draw viewers and potential activists in - making this not just "a legal issue," but a moral one.
What are some other issues/campaigns that made a personal connection and attracted new activists because of it?
What do you think of the video?