Apropos Meteor Blades' post Open thread for night owls: City and state governments forge ahead on climate change initiatives we have a number of chances to affect not only the environment, but many other issues as well in 2011.
While we should, justifiably, focus a lot of attention on the biggest 2011 elections coming up, we should also give equal attention to the smaller municipal, town and county elections (not to mention the also very important homeowners and condo association elections) that will happen throughout the country this year.
Why? Two reasons:
The first, and most obvious one is that cumulative local change equals large national change. The more elections from condo board to county board that produce actual policies, such as opportunities to recycle, save energy, donate to food banks, et cetera, the more we affect real conditions. Local policy creates momentum for state and federal policy.
Which leads to the next point: those who become civic-minded stay civic minded. The condo owner who votes for a recycling bin today supports county-wide energy savings tomorrow, votes for green state legislators next week, and supports progressive Congressional candidates down the line. Maybe the voter becomes a candidate her/himself.
Social psychology provides ample proof of this phenomenon. Persuasion psychology pioneer Robert Cialdini conducted a fascinating and much-cited study in which people ramped up their level of commitment for a cause after taking a small action:
This paper describes part of the study (emphasis added by TGW):
Consider, for example, the "drive carefully" study. Researchers randomly assigned homeowners in a residential neighborhood to either a control group or an experimental group. A researcher, posing as a "volunteer," asked the homeowners in both groups if they would allow the volunteer to post a gigantic "Drive Carefully" billboard in their front yards. Each homeowner viewed a photo of the billboard demonstrating it was so large it would almost completely obscure the view of the house from the street.
The only difference between the two groups was that two weeks earlier another "volunteer" had asked the homeowners in the experimental group display a three inch by three inch sign that read "Be a Safe Driver." The subjects in the experimental group, who complied with this seemingly innocuous request, were much more likely to agree to the gigantic billboards in their front yards: seventy-six percent of those in the experimental group versus a mere seventeen percent in the control group agreed to do so. "Because they had innocently complied with a trivial safe-driving request a couple of weeks before, those homeowners became remarkably willing to comply with another such request that was massive in size.
This site adds more information about the experiment:
Moreover, in a further variant, the residents were first asked to sign a “Keep California Beautiful” petition. Two weeks later, they are asked about placement of the large billboard, and 50% agreed, even though the first request differed in subject (beauty) and action (signing)! The researchers theorized that the first action actually changed way the participants viewed themselves, e.g., “public-spirited citizens” in a way that influenced them to act in accordance with that view in the future.
Key takeaway: small victories will lead to larger ones, and local elections are not anywhere near as heavy a lift as state or national elections.
These victories can be on any number of issues, both substantive and symbolic (that is, publicity generating). Policies and attitudes can be changed: town councils can pass resolutions condemning or praising national intitiatives; while these do not have the force of law, they have force in the court of public opinion. Every reported resolution against war or bigotry lets other know that there are progressive constituencies to tap. condemning policies
You can find local municipal elections by state and county easily enough through Google (I haven't found a comprehensive list yet, sorry)
For more information on persuasion, see:
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. by Robert Cialdini. This is the single most valuable book I have read on how to persuade and how to avoid being persuaded.
Cialdini's site. Make sure to subscribe to Inside Influence for free.
Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. Good practical examples drawn from real research.
Gardner, Howard: Changing Minds. Great insights into the mechanisms and forms of persuasion.
Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives, by George Lakoff. Lakoff specializes in debate framing for progressives. The most important lesson you can pick up from this bookl is that the winning frame wins the debate. Republicans know this: that's why they have their own language specialist, Frank Luntz , turn “oil drilling” into “energy exploration”. Lakoff is just as good, turning “higher taxes” into “paying your dues” examples abound.See also: Cognitive Policy Wonks and The Progressive Strategy Handbook Project
Frank Luntz: everything he’s written. He's a conservative message master, and you have to know the enemy. Remember the great scene in Patton, when the victorious general shouted: “Rommel! You magnificent son of a bitch! I READ YOUR BOOK!”
Recommended reading on local politics:
The Campaign Manager: Running and Winning Local Elections, By Catherine Shaw
How To Win A Local Election,by Lawrence Grey
The Opposition Research Handbook: Guide to Political Investigations
Further reading:
The incomparable Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. Online preview here . This is a practical guide to how to take power away from those who have it. The essential premise is that the Have’s advantage is a lot of money; their disadvantage is few people. The Have=Not’s are in the opposite situations. So Alinsky provides examples and guides on how to use the advantages of people over money. Most are easy to do, many absolutely hysterical, and all effective. See the O’Hare Airport Shit-In. (yes, you read that right. No spoilers here though, you’ll have to read the book)
Making the News: A Guide for Activists and Nonprofits, By Jason Salzman. This is a great guide to the kind of activism that makes the mainstream media, something we have to do in order to be a visible presence. Our champions will be more likely to support us if we get the kind of coverage the Tea Party gets. Funny and effective.
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