How can you or I make a real difference these days?
With less than half of the electorate turning out to the last by-election, the ballot box might not always be the right answer, writes Patrick Astill.
What really grabs attention seems to be the ubiquitous Facebook “fan” group, or a page online declaring support for your cause or a request to the authorities.
There’s also somewhere on the internet where you can start a petition to state your case directly to the Government, although for some that’s rather too formal.
Online campaigns make it very easy for people to show their support. They can attract passers-by or “box-tickers” who want to make a public statement, but would rather not be too directly associated with a cause.
One website, for example, gopetition.com, regularly achieves success. A Save Our Museums at Stamford and Grantham Petition won support from 346 people, all of whom signed online.
The recent surge of the message-sending system Twitter has also changed the way people think and act, by encouraging the authorities to bow to pressure.
Some causes become popular because of a bandwagon effect.
But making a big difference to a wider-ranging issue such as fuel prices or the new VAT rate is a tougher nut to crack. The rolling road blocks by hauliers in 2000 made precious little difference to the price at the pumps, which has since soared from 77p then to £1.29 now – more than a fiver a gallon.
So when do the great British public get listened to?
I know people who have nominated a relative for new year honour from the Queen. And it worked. Someone in that department takes notice.
And those who wish to make a real difference closer to home can volunteer. Yes, it involves time and energy, but it’s the opportunity to make a real difference – sometimes much more than through the ballot box or writing to the council to complain.
Become a trustee of a museum and shape its future. Be a school governor and appoint the teachers you want to give local children the very best start. Or join the board of your local hospice to help make the lives of the sick much better. It’s “big society”, but it can give you a big say.
First published in the Lincolnshire Echo.
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