“Where wise actions are the fruit of life, wise discourse is the pollination.”
Bryant H. McGill

Leading up to November 6, voters in neighborhoods/precincts across the nation are forming opinions about candidates and issues and those opinions will be shaped by messaging received between now and then. We do not have much time to help people get accurate information and engage in civil discourse. With less than 30 days to go, the big business of buying opinions is hard at work. One of their tools is telemarketing testing of false and negative messages.

It is no secret that corporate interests use big money to leverage control of our nation’s common sense. Paid researchers field messages about candidates, whether those messages are true or not. I was surveyed three time times this summer and each time, the questions presented misleading statements as though they were fact. Over the next 30 days, advertisements using those messages are going to increasingly cross our community’s airwaves, seep into social media feeds, land in inboxes, and be delivered to homes. In the short time before the election, some voters’ only source of information about candidates who support Democratic values may be from volunteers representing the Democratic Party. Others must rely on research companies, ad agencies, and other persons who are paid by corporate interests and PACs trying to control public opinion.

Volunteers like you and I may be the only link between a voter and a campaign message born out of genuine concern for the state of our democracy. Listening to a neighboring voter’s thoughts about candidates and issues is not difficult but time is of the essence if we are going to reach every voter before the election with a message that represents inclusive Democratic values. Corporate interests are counting on the power of money to buy opinions. Can we count on you to step into the arena and help get our Democratic candidates elected?

Yours in the fight for our democracy,

Flora