Taking Political Action

Greetings,

The following discussion is about political action and what it means to take political action. There are people who think that they are taking political action when they are actually not. They believe that they are trying to make a difference but they are actually not really. So the following will discuss methods of taking political action and their effects.

Not Political Action

There are some who think that political action is as simple as making people aware of injustice. This is only a very mild form of political action, if it can even qualify. People think that spreading information is sufficient political action for them to feel satisfied with themselves about having "done something" when in actual fact, most of the time it really does not qualify unless the information is of a truly restricted nature i.e. like whistle-blower level. So there are two actions which people think they are being political, but they are mostly just stirring the pot, and not really having particularly much effect.

Article Cross-Posting

Our social media feeds seem to be filled with people complaining about the actions of government or corporations. They seem to be filled with articles shared from various sources, some are reputable and some are not so reputable about various issues. Posting these articles does make people aware of the issues which are about, but it does not qualify as political action. Neither does a long rant underneath it in the comments. It raises awareness but does not do much else.

The "Meme"

Memes seem to have sprung up all over the place. Some of them are down-right hilarious, unfortunately these are not the ones that are being discussed here. The ones that are being discussed here, and "images with words attached" is the general definition which is being used here, are ones which are designed, like the articles above to stir people to action. For the most part, the most action that will be seen is some comment in the section below on a social media site. Much like Article Cross-Posting above, this does not qualify as political action. It may raise awareness of some social or political injustice, but it is not political action. It will not affect the government or corporations whom the meme is about.

Political Action

For something to qualify as political action it has to have an effect on the establishment. This means that either the government or a corporation has to stop and take notice of the action of the individual. this is the reason why the previous actions do not qualify as political action. They inform people, but so do journalists as part of their everyday job, and most of them would not think they are being political. The most important thing about this list is that while it covers the full extent of political action it does not in any way condone any sort of violent act against any individual or entity.

Voting

When political action is discussed this is the most common form which is recognised. Once every three or four years the voting public can decide to change the government. This is political action as the government, and corporations to a point, need to take notice of how people are voting and convince them to vote for them to keep them in power. This is the simplest and laziest form of  the use of political power and some people even decline to exercise this properly, and in some nations, at all. This is not the only way that an individual can exercise political power or effectively pressure the government or corporations.

Signing petitions

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of active petitions currently active and they are not all that difficult to find. Thanks to the internet we have organisations such as change.org which have made them electronic which means that we do not even have to sign on a piece of paper, but can sign from the comfort and convenience of our own homes. Signing these petitions is a form of political action as once the signatures are acquired they can be presented to politicians to present the view of the people on a particular issue. Where a person puts their contact details with their signature it holds more weight and, depending on the petition, could bring the person to notice of certain agencies. Of course there is a risk with any real political action that is to make a difference. However, in the same way as Voting, this is a relatively lazy form of political action, especially with the convenience of internet, electronic petitions.

Writing to Ministers

Any person may write to a Minister or Member of Parliament. A letter will carry more weight if the individual is a registered voter, and even more if the individual is one of that Member's constituents. Of course it will carry more weight if the letter is backed up with evidence and is not simply a rant or a complaint. The point being that writing to a Minister or Shadow Minister takes some effort, and this is appreciated by the reader and thus this is taken into account when the letter is read. This carries far more weight than simply signing a petition because you have taken the time to share your thoughts on a particular subject, which is obviously of importance to you. It can also easily be claimed that letters carry more weight than petitions because of the time taken to write them, especially when they are well-researched. The combination of letters and petitions is also useful. This is a form of political action which people do not seem to be as aware of as they should be.

Writing petitions and collecting names

Hasn't this been covered? No, the previous was merely signing the petition. This is writing the petition and collecting the names, being the instigator of the action. Just as it was previously stated, a combination of letters and petitions is a way of making people listen to issues which are present in a community. The letters and the petitions should be sent one after the other, and the petition should always be followed up by another letter so that the issue cannot be forgotten. Petitions are designed to gather a "ground-swell" of support for a cause. They are also useful for gaining contacts with people who may be willing and able to assist further in the cause. This form of political action has a long historical record.

Protesting

Protesting is the most well-known form of political action because it is public. The 1960s and 1970s made protesting famous, but it existed and was used well before this time. This, again, is the idea of using a "ground-swell" to demonstrate that there are a large group of the population which are concerned about a particular issue or set of issues. For many they are just an inconvenience which block roads and stop the flow of traffic, and this is actually their point. Protests are designed to make people take notice by causing an inconvenience through the massing of individuals. The other idea behind protests is that there is greater safety and greater force in numbers. One person can be ignored, but when hundreds of people get together, it is more difficult to ignore. Protests, for the most part, are designed to be non-violent, and the ones which turn violent are usually the result of a small group of people on either or both sides of the protest which stir up trouble. Protests are a form of political action which demonstrate an individual's dedication to a cause.

Violent Political Action

The forms of political action which have been described previously are intended to be non-violent. The prime one which can turn violent is the protest, which, as discussed, is usually the result of a radicalised group of individuals within the whole which cause the protest to turn violent. There are forms of violent political action which often make the news, which will be mentioned here, but not heavily detailed, as they are not the focus.

Terrorist acts are acts of violence perpetrated to cause fear for a social, political, or religious aim. These acts are usually perpetrated against civilian targets rather than military targets and are designed to cause disruption. They have previously been used as a form of political action and been used effectively so to bring governments to the negotiating table. Their nature has changed in recent times, as has the approach to them. Such actions are now considered criminal and not a legitimate form of political action.

Driven further along terrorist action can turn into revolution, but this requires the support of a large part of the population to succeed. Or at least complicity with a large part of the population to succeed. This is the most radical form of political action and involves taking over the entire government, usually by force.

Conclusion

There have been various forms of political action discussed. Clearly non-violent political action should always be the aim of the individual toward gaining their goals. What should also be noted is that there are more ways of exercising legitimate political power than just through the ballot. These should be taken into account. When a person truly supports a cause then these actions will be present. Posting articles and memes on social media is good for raising awareness but it does little else. More needs to be done to be considered "politically active".

Cheers,

Henry.