By Lynne Hudson
Are you outraged by the Arizona Legislature’s demagoguery, divisiveness, and downright bad legislation proposed daily? Rather than complain, explain. Seek peace by speaking your piece! Then, transform your righteous indignation into action by writing a letter to the editor (LTE) of an Arizona news outlet.
You already have the essential elements of a good letter — a clear message and an authentic voice. You don’t have to be a polished or professional writer, but if you want some help getting started, visit the Citizens Engagement Beyond Voting (CEBV) website. Type “CBEV AZ” in your search engine, then click Resources, followed by Letters to the Editor. This link will bring you to a page with several options.
- Begin at the top with the Submission option, where you will find links to news outlets in Arizona. Then, click on any link you may be interested in to find out the requirements and procedures for submission.
- The second step is to pick the news outlet of your choice and read several recent submissions to get a sense of what gets accepted.
- If you want some guidance in composing a powerful and persuasive LTE, a third step is to visit the next three sections entitled Structure, Messaging and Tips. They are full of great ideas.
The last step is to write and submit your LTE. But before you hit send, it’s a good idea to let it sit for a day or two and then reread it with fresh eyes. In the interim, you may also want to get feedback from someone whose opinion you value.
Our new LD 18 is fortunate to have a cadre of very smart, committed members with a variety of talents. That’s a good thing because there are many different ways to contribute to protecting democracy. For example, I used to love knocking on doors to engage potential voters in conversation. Age and limited mobility prevent me from canvassing now, but my mind and fingers are still agile, so these days I engage voters through persuasive writing.
If you share this interest, please get in touch with Larry Bodine or Jane Lassar, leaders of our new website, ld18dems.com. If writing is not your interest, then share with them how you can and will contribute.