With the approach of the Fourth of July weekend, most people's thoughts turn to bbqs, beer, fireworks and traffic on the Long Island Expressway. Don't get me wrong, I'm thinking about all those things as well (maybe traffic on I-95 actually), but I'm also thinking about the Constitution, and freedom and liberty. Which brings me to my point.
Over the past few years, technology has made it fairly simple for nonprofit organizations to empower their constituents to contact lawmakers over the internet. Doing so has allowed organizations to mobilize quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively, and to turn supporters into advocates.
Last month, certain Congressional offices started implementing a new piece of software that forces users who flow through these nonprofit organizations to answer a "logic puzzle" before submitting a comment over email. Unorganized individuals who go directly to a lawmaker's website don't have to answer the logic puzzle, it only applies to people who wish to communicate as part of a movement through nonprofit organizations. EchoDitto's Jamie Ruth blogged about this on June 14; his post is available here.
A diverse group of organizations, from the right and the left, came together to send Congress a letter on June 19, asking that legislators stop using this software. EchoDitto, along with many of our friends and allies, proudly signed the letter. Consumers Union posted this website to host the letter and ongoing coalition work, including a form for people to fill out to lend their support to the petition.
We're happy that two offices have already turned off the logic puzzle--Lucille Roybal-Allard, 34 CA and John Dingell, 15 MI. But over thirty representatives are still using it.
So this Fourth of July weekend, in between dipping your toes in the ocean and watching Brazil play France, take a second to think about what it really means to live in a democracy.
Have a safe and happy holiday.
