Skip to footer

3 ways you can have your voice better heard in Congress

Voice of the People founder Steven Kull suggests three ways for Americans to have their voice better heard in Congress through an advisory 'Citizen Cabinet' in every congressional district.

|
Kevork Djansezian/Reuters
Town hall attendees listen to Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, speak during a community forum on the Affordable Care Act hosted by Sens. Diane Feinstein (D) and Barbara Boxer (D) of California in Long Beach, Calif., Sept. 6.

Voice of the People is a new nonpartisan organization meant to give greater voice to "we the people." Americans "show an ability to deal with tradeoffs and make the hard choices that Congress finds so difficult," says the nonprofit's founder, Steven Kull. Yet many Americans don't feel they are being heard. Voice of the People seeks to create a "Citizen Cabinet" in every congressional district so that members of Congress have a large, scientifically-selected, representative sample of their constituents. The cabinets can be consulted on current issues and provide a voice that accurately reflects the values and priorities of their district or state.

Mr. Kull suggests these three ways for people to have their voice better heard:

1. Visit Voice of the People (VOP.org) and learn more about the Citizen Cabinet.

2. Sign the petition asking Congress to create a national Citizen Cabinet.

3. Spread the word about this new way to break through the gridlock in Congress.

– The Editors

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to 3 ways you can have your voice better heard in Congress
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Common-Ground/2013/1021/3-ways-you-can-have-your-voice-better-heard-in-Congress
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe