The other day I received a petition in my email box. I’m sure many of you may have had this experience. You read the petition and it raises some great points about issues that you feel strongly about. So, you eagerly sign it and forward it on to all of your friends and acquaintances feeling a sense of accomplishment in achieving a personal grievance and/or heart felt injustice. With all of these people joining you in the fight you’re sure to be heard on this one. 

What people need to know is…while most of these petitions are about actual causes and need your participation they are basically ineffective. You are wondering how that could be? Petitioning is one of the most effective ways Americans have gotten our views across for generations. We’ve gone door to door, we’ve stood in parking lots, schools, and shopping malls, gathering support for causes we feel strongly about. Petitioning has been, historically, one of the best ways to get participation from those who usually remain uninvolved. They also show, by the numbers of those participating, how strongly we feel towards a concern at hand. So, why not email petitions?

Well, to begin with, the email addresses that we’re to send the final petition to are usually not real. I’ve checked. I’ve received error messages every time I’ve sent an email to them. I invite you to check for yourself the next time you get one of these email petitions in your box. 

These fake return email addresses are not the only way email petitions are ineffective. Let’s explore this for a moment…you are lead to believe, based on your past experience with successful forms of petitions, that sending massive emails with massive amounts of names, via email petitions, to the President, Senate, and/or Congress, and the mere numbers of people participating, would speak volumes,  therefore, a powerful statement. Well, here’s why it doesn’t work. Names can be duplicated by hundreds and thousands as each recipient adds his/her name and then massively sends out his/her copy (with all those duplicated names) to numerous acquaintances and friends. And not to mention how many times you’ve received the same said petition more than once only to sign it again.  Moreover, there is no verification or validation process to make sure that completed copies are actually “signed” by the person or persons listed, as opposed to someone adding names to the petition. Also, most petitions mention that any “break” in one branch of the chain can cause the permanent loss of the collected signatures of that branch. I personally know of people who’ve told me they delete them. And why not? They don’t really accomplish anything anyway.

What is potentially the most harmful aspect about these petitions is the illusion that you are being heard, which in actuality, is the farthest from the truth.  These petitions are probably started by someone who wants to misdirect, misinform, and create the feeling you've been heard on an issue when in fact the exact opposite is true. They are tricking us. These petitions are probably started by the very people who don’t want your views to be heard much less reach your representatives.

What I'd suggest you do, the next time you receive one of these bogus pleas for participation, is send them back to the person who sent it to you.  In case they are also being duped include the information I have provided below as to how to truly reach, the President, and/or your local Senator or Congressman. If you happen to feel strongly about the subject matter pertained within the petition you’ve received…why not forward it on to your local representatives with some added comments made by you and your true contact information. Use the petitions, these masters of deception have deliberately attempted to mislead us with, and turn it around on them. Most of the work is done. Now all you have to do is forward it to those whom can actually do anything about your concerns. You should also get a reply from your local representatives validating their receiving your email. This is one of the best ways, besides speaking to them directly, to let them know how you feel…And you truly will be filling their email boxes up with your concerns.

How to find your Senator or Congressman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqRjCRMyeZI

Contacting the President

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/