letters to politicians

In withdrawing consent I reproduced an article written by and linking to Downsize DC and The Zero Aggression Project. At their websites you can sign up for e-mail notifications from them. I did – and recommend it.

In one of their e-mails they sent some great advice on writing to political officials. The vast majority of letters sent to the politicians BEG for consideration. That shows a grave misunderstanding of who you are dealing with – and what will actually motivate them.

Here is what you need to keep in mind if your letters are to have any impact:

We write NOT to persuade Congress, but to pressure them.

Some say our tone is harsh. We understand this feeling, but please consider …

Congress does not willingly SOFTEN its transgressions against your rights, EVER.

Congress must feel intense pressure before it will relent on its criminality. Such pressure needs two things — large numbers and passionate intensity. Thus, our tone.

Please understand that politicians are NOT like the people with whom you normally associate. Assuming that they are, is a symptom of Stockholm Syndrome — the psychological phenomenon where captives come to sympathize with their captors. Instead …

Politicians are creatures of power, leading to arrogance. They dare to assume that they have the wisdom and the right to impose their preferences on other people, and that those who decline to submit must be harmed. This is the mindset of a sociopath, NOT a normal person.

You can always edit our sample letters to soften our tone if you want, but please do NOT assume that this will somehow persuade the staffer who reads your letter to communicate your reasonable arguments to his or her bosses. We, along with the hundreds of people who write Congress two to three times per week, have found the opposite is true.

PASSIONATE INTENSITY is more likely to get noticed by the staff. Please understand …

This is NOT an invitation to be rude. It’s an exhortation to speak the truth bluntly.