Let's Be Loud!

As a volunteer at Resistbot one of the tasks I attend to is submitting Letters to the Editor for our users. Sounds boring? Absolutely not! I am inspired every day to read letters from users and revise slightly to make them appropriate for a newspaper rather than a letter to their elected officials.

I have been excited, saddened, but always inspired by each user letter. They are sometimes about local items or raging issues that plague our country. Our community of users put into words so much of what I feel each day.

Local letters revolve around urban issues such as bike lanes and traffic easement in Connecticut, punitive fees on electric vehicles in Mississippi; the DeSantis/Disney feud in Florida; and the ever-changing laws affecting women's health care in, oh too many states to mention.

Resistbot users have their finger on the pulse of the nation and express themselves eloquently. My task is only to smooth the edges and get it published in their local newspaper. Each day as I edit the letters, I am involved in users angst and anger over issues; their sadness about the health care situation; their outrage on the movements against trans individuals, their depression at the gun violence, and their disdain for legislators who do not see or hear their constituents.

If a newspaper will not take a letter through a form, we edit and return to user with information to submit to a specific paper. Our goal is to amplify your voice to others in your region.

Recently, I was excited to edit a letter for Jessica Craven, an activist in California, that got a headline in the Los Angeles Times. Jessica crafts an excellent daily newsletter entitled Chop Wood, Carry Water [Substack] with action items for all those who believe we can make change. She informs folks on the daily issues; giving readers the opportunity to contact their legislators in many ways including the use of Resistbot. Jessica makes it easy to be active and participate in our democracy.

Currently we have user letters published in every state but Rhode Island, so I am always on the lookout for a letter in the queue from a user in Rhode Island so the last state can be pinned.

So next time Resistbot asks if you want us to submit your letter for publication in a local newspaper, say YES. You can provide us with a paper or we will select one close by. We want your voice and concerns to be amplified. Let's Be Loud!