In my last column, in March, I discussed the reasons why it’s a good idea to follow politics. This month, I’ll describe three ways to successfully instigate change. This is by no means a comprehensive list of what you can do to alter government, but it’s certainly a good place to start, especially if you’ve got a busy life and can’t devote all of your time to staging a political revolution.
Frequently, my friends tell me they have no interest in politics, and I typically don’t belabor the point. Frankly, I don’t blame them for their disinterest. Corruption, endless scandals, torrents of wasted money — it’s enough to discourage even the most committed political idealist. It’s easy to succumb to the mindset that there’s nothing we do can to change the system, so we shouldn’t bother trying. But I still believe that change is possible, that we can and should care — not in spite of governmental failure, but because of it. I’ll explain why.