This is the first post in a brand new blog that is intended to be a brand new enterprise – a new business. It took two months preparation getting to this moment of finally writing actual content.

Who do I think I am? No one’s ever done it before. You can’t do that. It’s too hard. It’s too scary. The Evil Big <insert boogeyman here> will get you! There are too many hurdles to get over.

Sound familiar? We’ve all told ourselves those kinds of things – usually when the project or idea scares us silly. But people DO start businesses and write their congressman every day. Those things just aren’t true.

Our fears are usually our greatest obstacle. The other is hopelessness. Those who believe something is hopeless will never act to change it – they are convinced they cannot do it.

My Momma always said “Can’t never could.” The mere belief that you are defeated is what defeats you – not the mountain, or molehill, you face. But the converse is just as true, just like Momma said – you can when you believe you can.

But I’m not here to write a self help blog. I’m here to write a nation help blog. It’s just that too often even when we know something needs to be done, the idea of any entry into the political arena – no matter how small – terrifies us. Worse, we’ve been so poorly educated about how this government thing runs that many don’t realize that there are things we CAN do – little things, easy things and EFFECTIVE things.

We the People – That’s us! Government, be it the school district or the federal government, derives its authority – the right to tell anyone what to do – from “the consent of the governed”. Fancy speak for government’s authority comes from US. Despite the fact that our government frequently acts like its forgotten that fact absolutely none of your representatives have. Not one.

Because only the one with the most votes wins. And more often than not, our elections are secure – meaning while exceptions happen, for the most part stealing elections is difficult and seriously expensive. It’s cheaper and easier for most politicians to just make their constituents happy than to try election fraud.

That’s where a lot of the leverage exists. If your representative is left guessing what the community wants he or she is likely going to resort to increasingly unreliable polling to try to find out what they need to say or do to get into or stay into office. But modern polling is prohibitively expensive done right and occasionally hilariously inaccurate done wrong.

This makes communication from the constituents more important than it has been in decades. All politicians worth their salt know that most people won’t write, won’t call and won’t even email – but that every letter, call and email represents more than just the one person. They assume that if one person took the time to write a letter, probably at least a hundred more feel that way. Calls may represent even more people – because one person getting riled up enough to call a congressman most likely has a lot of friends feeling the same way.

And all those people live in the representatives district – and many are likely to vote.

It’s an axiom that all votes count – but they do. Simple plurality (the most votes) wins. Every person who doesn’t vote is one less vote present to add up to the magic ‘I’ve got more than you do’ number. More than a few elections have been lost by a few votes – and far more have been lost because voters just didn’t vote.

Which is why that letter you bothered to not only write but mail gets noticed. Just like votes, the more letters, the more attention – but that attention is paid without waiting for the election.

No one wins every game – and we all know that. But no one wins who doesn’t play.

It doesn’t take rioting in the streets to get your politicians to pay attention – that’s a very last resort. Nor does it require violence – unless you plan to start your own country in which case let me advise you to try buying an island instead. It DOES require some work – becoming well informed, and learning how to interreact with government and government officials in ways that increase the likelihood of a positive change.

So to those who think they are helpless before the power of government, I am telling you you’re not. Who says you can’t send an email, sign a petition, talk to your friends, post online – and maybe even call that school board member who wants to vote against something that all the parents seem to think would be a good idea?

Who says you can’t? Who says you are helpless? Who says you are powerless? Who says you are defeated?

Who says you can’t? Because the truth is YOU CAN.

I mean, I just started a new business – so just think what YOU can do!