Interacting with Your Elected Officials
Interacting with Your Elected OfficialsThey say you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. You can use this approach when communicating with your elected officials. People are hard wired to react emotionally. Social media’s success is founded on that reaction and builds their algorithms to perpetuate the emotional response.
You need to rise above that if you want to build a relationship that might move your goals forward in our government.
You may have heard the story that broke about Washington State Senator Leonard Christian who used the “R” word during a Senate floor debate. People reacted with outrage. Indeed, the use of the slur caused significant pain within the disability community. But it also offers a chance for dialogue and growth.
DAC NW reached out to the Senator and invited him to a meeting, to discuss how he could become a genuine ally to the disability community. We invited him to connect so we could share the perspectives of the people we serve. Understanding the lived experience of people with disabilities is invaluable for any legislator.
He agreed and met with the Executive Director Mark Leeper and our staff at the DAC NEW office. We explained how the Independent Living Movement has spent more than 50 years working to shift public perception of disability – away from a model that views people with disabilities as problems to be managed, and toward one that recognizes every person’s inherent dignity, autonomy, and right to participate fully in society. Words spoken from positions of power shape culture, influence policy, and signal to constituents who is valued and who is not.
The meeting went well and we connected on the needs of people with disabilities in Washington State including House Bill 1390 that would potentially harm those with intellectual disabilities.
Reacting emotionally to these issues can potentially cause the elected officials to “shut down” and dismiss our concerns. Instead, we worked together to see what we can build on common ground that we all share.
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