This post is a summary of two articles. The first with the complete title of, " Online political activism enables you to take a stand on every issue." Written by Chris Robertson and published at http://www.majon.com/. The second with the title of, "Slacktivism: why snopes got wrong about internet petitions." Published at http://www.frogloop.com/, and written by Randy Paynter on April,28, 2010.
To many people, politics seems remote and getting involved has posed insurmountable barries. Being involved in politics has never been easy, at least until recently. Now that online political activism is available to everyone that has internet access, every citizen can easily get involved and take a stand on the important issues of today. One good thing that internet and politics have in common is their ability to unite people and with these two together, they create a powerful force of citizens, ready and willing to fight for their rights in a peaceful manner. Internet activism is a type of political social networking in which online users work together to reach a certain political goal. For example, a website called, "DoYouHearUs.org" has recently been developed to enable the citizens to voice his or her opinion. Members are united in their message on every issue and directed to the appropriate state or federal figure. Citizens can now have their voices heard by someone that can make a difference, their own political leaders! Through cyberactivism, citizens can voice their wishes concerning education, taxes, non-profit funds, the environment, war or any other issue they feel strongly about. An online political activism website provides the information related to every issue for members to review. The members will consider the upcoming issues and decide or not to take action. Taking action on every issue is recommended, but not required. Implementing politics on the internet sounds simple, but can be a very affordable, effective way to reach out in these unsettled political times. Many folks simply do not have the time or resources to form local or national protest groups. They do not have time for traditional activism, but cyberactivism opens the doors wide for the busy individual. It unite people from all walks of life who normally would not be able to group meetings. Start making a difference in your nation by joining online political activism. It is one step toward a better future.
Snopes.com is a site that characterizes internet petitions as "slacktivism", a pejorative nickname suggesting that activism is worthless if it does not require considerable effort. Ignore such commentary, is a favorite among cynics, and no doubt has turned off many who might otherwise have take action. At a time when civic engagement is more important than ever, it is a tragedy that this ill-conceived commentary has done. The reason we have such apathy in society today is because people believe it is too dificult to have an impact and/or they do not believe they personally can make a difference. Because online activism makes it easy to get involved, millions more people than ever before are speaking up and taking action. Usually, activists start with simple steps, if we want a more engaged democracy we need to make it easy for as many people as possible to feel the joy of those first steps. Those first steps can be a powerful motivator. It is not the effort of the act that further motives people, it is the emotional payoff that drives future engagement. If you make activism effective and enjoyable, people will do more of it. Not everyone is going to become a super activist, but if simple steps are all you are up for, then it is great to have you on board, far better than apathy. New legislation, new schools, elections, may grab all the headlines, but these are just the results of millions of small decisions and actions along the way. That is the way change happens: always the result of many steps and many influences. These days it is hard to imagine significant change happening that is no greatly influenced by so-called armchair "slacktivistas." Web 2.0 activism has transformed the power structure, putting power in the hands of the people and forcing authorities to be accountable like never before.
