Now we are going to dig through the fuzzy studies one by one, starting with PoliSci. (PS 310-319 is supposed to be "general statistics," but I couldn't find any books in this category. Fortunately.) Here I can read Arthur Miller On Politics and the Art of Acting, which, as it happens, is available almost in full as the 2001 NEH Jefferson Lecture, presented in March of that year. The "recent" election he is analyzing is 2000's Bush/Gore contest, which, some of us may remember, seemed at the time to be the most ridiculous Presidential election in history, with its dynastic candidates and its hanging chads... sigh. The election of 2016 makes 2000 look like a model of civility and rationality. And that date, March 2001, reminds us that even though a presidential election plays like a TV show, the consequences can be very real. If we had known in November of 2000 what was coming in September of 2001, how many of us would have voted differently!
Ugh, maybe I'd rather read about a specific issue, like immigration, that I can actually do something about. Let Them In, by Jason Riley, dates from 2008, when the issue was simmering but not boiling. Reviewers on the right and the left found a lot to like in this defense of increased legal immigration, and apparently Riley addresses a lot of the concerns that people are now heatedly debating. Even though, or because, he is a conservative, he presents research to dismiss fears about job loss, wage depression, increased crime, and difficulties assimilating.
Speaking of doing something, there's a book for that, too: Citizens in Action, by Stephanie Vance. She offers this brief (111 pages), breezy "guide to influencing government" that, so far, really has me believing that I can do it. This checklist serves as a great outline of the book. If you understand and implement the checklist, you will be in the 1%... the 1% of people who effectively use their privilege of citizenship to affect the course of our country! Extra credit: how cool is this directory to the federal government, so you can FIND the person you want to lobby??!
I have a lot to say about advocacy in general and my role in particular, so stay tuned!
