Politics - How to Make Your Voice Heard - Extra Credits

[Music] as some of you know James went down to Washington DC a while back with members of the entertainment consumer Association to sit down with senators and Congress folk and talk about how to responsibly address the issue of piracy the trip was eye openening and really gave us a lot to think about So today we're going to do something a little different from our usual thing every time we do an episode on a political issue a lot of you write in and tell us how disenfranchised feel how you feel like you just don't have any power to change these things that your vote doesn't matter you want to do something but you seem to hit a brick wall just looking for a place to start well if soapa and pipa showed us anything it's that our voices actually do matter I mean what was thought to be a totally safe Bill became a political Firestorm you guys made the unthinkable happen in Washington people taking their names off a bill and voting against the wishes of major lobbyists and donors but on the other side of that bills like sispa have proven that legislation like this doesn't die easy and that we have plenty of battles left ahead of us so we thought we'd spend this week making a

handy guide for all you guys who want to get more involved in making things better but have no idea how to start because if going down to DC taught us anything it's that we can really make a difference it showed us that the halls of Power are much more accessible than we' long thought American politics is made out to be a giant monolithic structure cryptic and impenetrable but it's really not as much as you would think at the end of the day it's just people people like you and me talking to all our International viewers I apologize if this episode doesn't have a lot of directly applicable information for you but as citizens of the US if an entire generation feels as though they are powerless in their own country country then the great experiment has failed and we've failed both as lovers of a medium which is still haunted by the Spectre of censorship and greater lovers of Liberty in general as Thomas Payne famously said those who expect to reap the blessings of Freedom must like men undergo the fatigues of supporting it when he spoke he was talking about bearing arms today all we got to do is Step a little outside our comfort zone and all it takes to do it is a little information so here it goes first and most importantly register to vote I know everybody tells you this but it actually does matter with the gerrymandering that's gone on most elections in the US are won by only a few percentage points

in fact the result of every presidential election in the 20th century with maybe three exceptions could have been altered if all those who'd been registered to vote actually had voted and every single presidential election in the 20th century could have been swung by the vast unregistered masses so your vote matters just go do it go get your friends to do it and if you don't well don't complain when games or student loans or anything else that's important to you comes under attack as a Great Canadian once explained it it's a lot like voting for pizza toppings among your friends if you can't be bothered to vote don't complain if you get stuck eating anchovies second no your primaries if it feels like your vote doesn't carry enough weight in the general election then make sure you get out to your state primary we've heard about the primaries a lot this year in terms of presidential candidates but almost every elected office in your state has a primary there's a primary for your Congress people your Senators even your Governor the question of who will and won't be running for major offices is often decided by less than 100,000 total votes and it's not uncommon for the vote difference between two top tier candidates in those sort of primaries to be numbered in the thousands beyond that State offices and local offices things which really directly affect your life where you're living tended to be decided by a mere

handful of votes James recently spoke at the University of Miami Ohio if every student in that school was registered to vote in their district and actually came out to vote they could have swung every Primary in their District except the nomination of Speaker of the House John bayner and that only by a few thousand my point is these elections tend to be a lot more neck and neck than you think so a handful of extra people deciding to make time to register and vote actually can make all the difference next reach out to your Congress people james' trip to DC taught us that they're a lot more accessible than you might expect in fact a lot of them actually want to hear from you and to show just how accessible they are here's Jared polus sitting congressman from Colorado when he heard we were planning this episode he volunteered to come on and talk about how people can get involved oh and if you didn't know already this guy is pretty awesome not only did he ardently oppose soapa and pipa but he actually jumped on the League of Legends message boards to explain the situation to the community there and rally their support you don't get much more accessible than that oh and he uh plays anevia and maai for those who are going to ask anyway take it away sir hi everyone the extra credit folks have already introduced me a bunch but I'm Jared H Congressman for

the second congressional district of Colorado like many people under 40 games are a part of my life so I wish I could come on the show and just talk about games particularly League of Legends or Diablo I which I just completed but today is about making your voice heard and how you can most effectively Reach people in Congress first your calls and emails do count members of Congress might not get to read or hear everyone personally but their staffs keep track and keep each member up to date about how many people contact them for or against each issue as we saw during the debate over soap and Pippa a flood of calls and emails can tip the scales so send that email make that call just don't send snail mail because security IR radiates it and sometimes doesn't get here for weeks and when it does it's frequently mangled second make sure you're contacting your own member of Congress if you're writing to someone who isn't your Congress person or Senator at best they'll forward the email or letter to the person who does represent you at worst they won't even read it a quick Google search like write our representative will lead you to a site where you can find your representative so you can write the right people third it has to be personal

internet petitions are great and all but they come along too often and they're too easy to fake members of Congress don't even know if the people who signed them are from their District if you want Congress to listen let a congress person or Senator know that you're from the district you vote and you'll be watching how they vote on your particular issue fourth voting on bills is only a small part of being in Congress much of the work that we do is back home in our communities where Congress people and Senators hold public events like Town Halls yes you can actually speak to a member of Congress in person they're actually quite accessible caller office and find out when they're holding a town hall and simply show up and ask your question you could even call to set up an appointment for you and your friends to meet with your member of Congress in their district office finally if you want to get even more engaged call your mayor's office and ask about participating on local advisory boards which are a great way to influence local government you can also volunteer for a campaign or even run for office yourself yes run for office yourself it's not as crazy as it sounds I got started in politics because I care deeply about education so I ran for the state school board there's hundreds of important issues that can be impacted on the local level whether you want to run for

Library board or Fire District board so give it a shot this is something you can actually do in short make contact make it local personal thoughtful and your voice will be heard all right everyone it was a blast to be on the show but I've got to get back to my day job I hope that helps and I hope that you make your voices heard thanks Jared and thanks to all you guys as well I know this wasn't our typical gaming episode but if we're really going to make a difference if we're really going to preserve a free and open internet if we are going to keep games and uncensored art it's necessary that as many of us are heard as possible see you next week [Music] [Music] [Music]

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