Write to a member of congress
Sending a letter to [or calling] a member of Congress is not equivalent to casting a ballot or answering a survey, where the choice with the most responses "wins." Sending a letter to a member of Congress is more like giving a speech at a town meeting or writing a letter to the editor. The content matters. The operating assumption of many congressional staff is that the more thought constituents give to the communication, the more passionately they care about the issue. Quality messages are those that are:
1. Personalized. Even just one relevant and personalized sentence or paragraph in an otherwise generic message conveys some sense of a constituent's sentiment. The more personalized the message, the better. It significantly helps the communication if one's personal views, experiences, and the reasons for one's opinions are included in the message.
2. Short. Congressional staff review hundreds of letters every week, so covering an issue in a few short paragraphs helps them immensely.
3. Targeted. Messages that convey knowledge of specific legislation, the member's stance on the issue, and the impact the legislation will have on the member's constituents, district, or state tend to be much more persuasive than generic messages.
4. Informative. Congressional offices do not have the resources to research and track every bill, so they focus on legislation being considered in their members' committees or by the full House or Senate. Often constituents bring new legislation to their attention, requiring staff to do research so as to be able to discuss and respond to it. For this reason, quality messages contain specific information about the legislation in question.
(From Peace Action, July 2008)
Write a Letter to the Editor
A letter to the editor is a valuable way to make your opinion known and to influence others.
It's easy to send a letter to the editor via email. Send your letter in the body of an email, not as an attachment. Include your name, address and phone number so the newspaper can confirm that you wrote the letter and want it printed. A letter should be a couple of short paragraphs on a single topic. Few papers will print a letter longer than 100 words. A letter is most effective If you include a personal experience, special knowledge, or relevant facts.
National newspapers like the New York Times, Newsday, and the Washington Post publish very few of the letters they are sent, but it is worth trying.
Here are the email addresses of the letters editors of popular papers.