Red, Blue, or a shade of chaos
Why It Shouldn’t Matter Whether You Like Your Elected Officials — Talk to Them Anyway
In advocacy, one truth rises above every partisan storm: it should not matter whether you like or dislike an elected official, or whether they’re red, blue, or proudly flying their own custom political color.
If they hold office, they affect your life. And if they affect your life, you should be talking to them.
Yet far too many people sit on the sidelines — frustrated, disengaged, or convinced that one meeting or one email won’t change a thing. But here’s the quiet secret that seasoned advocates eventually discover:
Access isn’t about agreement.
Progress isn’t about popularity.
And impact doesn’t require a fan club.
It requires communication.
We Don’t Have to Like Them to Work With Them
Let’s be honest. Officials are human: some inspire confidence, some inspire headaches, and some inspire the immediate need for a deep, cleansing sigh.
But governance isn’t a friendship contest.
It’s a system — one that works better when the people inside it hear from the people outside it.
Disagreement is not a disqualifier.
Annoyance is not a barrier.
Frustration is not a reason to opt out.
Showing up anyway is the point.
When You Don’t Speak, Someone Else Fills the Silence
A hard reality: elected officials hear from someone every day. Lobbyists, industry groups, well-connected organizations, the same five extremely determined citizens who treat constituent outreach like a competitive sport.
If you choose not to speak, your silence doesn’t create neutrality — it creates a vacuum, and a vacuum will always fill with someone else’s priorities.
If you want your problems addressed, your solutions considered, or your community represented, you cannot afford to stay quiet.
Meet With Them — And Bring Substance
Meeting with an elected official isn’t about venting or delivering a speech fit for a courtroom drama. It’s about clarity.
When you do get in the room:
Say what’s wrong. Be specific. Systems don’t fix “vibes,” they fix documented problems.
Propose solutions. Even simple ones. Even imperfect ones. Officials appreciate people who come with ideas, not just anger.
Explain the impact. Facts matter. Stories seal the deal.
Follow up. Advocacy isn’t one-and-done — it’s persistent, respectful pressure.
If you do this consistently, you become more than a citizen.
You become a resource.
The Myth That “They Don’t Listen”
Officials listen more than people realize — but they listen especially when:
their constituents show up,
the issue is clear, and
the request is actionable.
Most offices will tell you they rarely hear from surviving spouses, families in crisis, or everyday people trying to navigate broken systems. That absence of communication becomes a justification for inaction: “No one’s brought this up.”
Translation: We won’t prioritize what we think nobody cares about.
Break that cycle.
Communication Builds Results, Not Partisanship
Every meaningful policy improvement starts with a conversation.
Sometimes those conversations are warm. Sometimes they are… brisk. Occasionally they feel like trying to download a file over 1998 dial-up.
But they matter.
When constituents across political preferences show up with consistent messages, offices take notice. And when communities show that they’re willing to collaborate instead of just complain, change becomes not just possible — but unavoidable.
Engagement Is How We Win
Advocacy isn’t a spectator sport. It’s hands-on, face-to-face, tell-the-truth-even-when-you’re-tired work. And it moves faster when people stop treating politics like a personality test and start treating it like a civic responsibility.
You don’t have to agree with an official to meet with them.
You don’t have to endorse them to educate them.
You don’t have to admire them to hold them accountable.
Speak up. Show up. Bring solutions.
The more we communicate, the more we accomplish — and the less room there is for systems to pretend they never heard us.
