Keep Showing Up

“What’s the one thing you think I can do to make a difference?”

That was a question I got from an intern a few years back. I can’t recall all the details of that conversation, but I know my advice is still the same. It’s what I’d tell you over coffee if we met today: “You have to keep showing up.”

Nowadays, in training after training, I find myself driving this point home again and again to aspiring advocates. The one thing you MUST do to make a difference, is to keep showing up.

And that’s pretty damn difficult.

Sure, there are the reasons we always hear about why folks don’t choose to participate. It’s too daunting. They don’t feel informed. They don’t know what to say. They don’t want to contribute money. They don’t have the time. They don’t care for the partisanship – or worse yet they won’t engage with “the other side” because of that partisanship.

But now, at least in Ohio, there’s another reason folks will throw up their hands once more and say “to hell with it.” Right now, they can’t even know who the candidates will be, or in what districts they’ll be running. That’s because Ohio’s recently changed rules on re-districting have gone nuclear in their very first outing. (Here’s the latest via The Columbus Dispatch.)

If you’re someone interested in creating positive change in the Buckeye state, regardless of your party politics, it’s incredibly difficult to stay motivated in the midst of this debacle. But that’s why we can’t bank on motivation. You see, the really effective, world changing people in American public life were never just motivated. They were consistent. They found ways to show up even when they weren’t feeling motivated. And it’s been like that since the beginning.

There’s a quote I’ve referenced on this blog before. It’s been attributed to our third President, Thomas Jefferson. But there’s very little proof he ever said it. Even the folks at Monticello.org call it spurious. Nevertheless, it holds a kernel of truth for us:

“We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”

Attributed to Thomas Jefferson

Said another way: “if you want to have a say, you have to show up.”

I hope Jefferson did say those words. Our system depends on citizen participation. Our elected representatives aren’t imbued with some special wisdom when sworn in. Nor are they anointed with some mystic ability to understand the needs of those they serve. Rather, the moment they take office, they are seeking out information from their friends, neighbors, and constituents to determine just what all those folks do give a damn about.

And if we aren’t talking to those elected representatives, we’re only letting ourselves down.

That’s because winning effectively in advocacy work is almost never about getting everything you want – especially not quickly. It’s about building consensus, coalitions and credibility. Each of those depends on one, non-negotiable, minimum action: showing up.

Right now, your advocacy agenda could still be gaining traction with important decision makers, and those who can influence them in the next session of our general assembly or Congress. You can build the credibility with those who will act as gatekeepers on staff. You can engage other stakeholder groups who oppose your issue. You can keep showing up.

And you have to.

You have to show up to bolster your champions. You have to show up to sway your opponents. You have to show up if you’re ever going to win others to your side of an issue. You have to show up, and fail, and learn, and show up again.

Even when you don’t know who your representative will be.