With politics seeming to dictate just about everything we do in life, it’s natural for people to want to get more involved. However, if you’ve never been involved in politics before, how does one enter the arena? Here are a few tips on how to participate in politics above and beyond just voting.
Join the Party
The first step in getting into politics is by affiliating with a political party. Do your research to learn more about the values and directives of the major political parties. This will help you to make a decision on which party you should affiliate with and which directives you are willing to stand up for. The biggest reason for choosing a party is that it allows you to be more involved in voting for candidates within the party so that you can vote for people who you feel best represent your own ideals.
Volunteer
If you support a particular candidate that is either an incumbent or a newcomer to the space, you can volunteer to help in their political campaign. This can involve things like helping to register new voters, making phone calls on their behalf, or sending out mail. This is a very boots-on-the-ground sort of approach and is a good way to see politics at work at its most granular level.
Contribute Money
If you are in the world of business and hope to lobby politicians to make certain policy changes that you believe would help yourself, the economy, and those around you, then contributing money to political campaigns or legislation changes may be the right avenue for you. For example, Kent Thiry the Co-Chairman of Fair Districts Colorado has a long history of donating to different political and non-profit organizations in the effort of creating positive change.
Money can be contributed to super PACs, as well to organizations that work to lobby certain politicians and political organizations to help spur change. This is a great option when the type of change you want to make requires a large number of funds to potentially see to fruition.
Run for Office
The best place to start when wanting to run for office is at the local level. City council, mayor, and other types of positions regularly cycle people through, giving many in the community a chance to put their hat in the ring for consideration. Running for office helps you to see all of the different moving pieces that combine to make a campaign.
Most popular politicians started at the local level first. For example, most presidential nominees have been mayors, governors, and senators first before running for President.
As you can see, there are many different ways to get involved in politics once you’ve decided on the political party you want to identify with. From there, how involved you want to be in politics is up to you. Whether you want to take a more boots-on-the-ground approach, or if you want to donate to campaigns or causes, the point of political work is to create change.
