Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror gets radicalized:
In my 14 years of blogging, I’ve never written a political blog post. I haven’t needed to.
Until now.
It is quite clear something has become deeply unglued in the state of American politics.
…
I exercised my rights as a American citizen and I voted, yes. But I mostly ignored government beyond voting. I assumed that the wheels of American government would turn, and reasonable decisions would be made by reasonable people. Some I would agree with, others I would not agree with, but I could generally trust that the arc of American history inexorably bends toward justice, towards freedom, toward equality. Towards the things that make up the underlying American dream that this country is based on.
This is no longer the case.
I truly believe we are at an unprecedented time in American history, in uncharted territory. I have benefited from democracy passively, without trying at all, for 46 years. I now understand that the next four years is perhaps the most important time to be an activist in the United States since the civil rights movement. I am ready to do the work.
I have never once in my life called my representatives in congress or the house. That will change. I will be calling and writing my representatives regularly, using tools like 5 Calls to do so.
I will strongly support, advocate for, and advertise any technical tools on web or smartphone that help Americans have their voices heard by their representatives, even if it takes faxing to do so. Build these tools. Make them amazing.
I am subscribing to support essential investigative journalism such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post.
I have set up large monthly donations to the ACLU which is doing critical work in fighting governmental abuse under the current regime.
I have set up monthly donations to independent journalism such as ProPublica and NPR.
I have set up monthly donations to agencies that fight for vulnerable groups, such as Planned Parenthood, Center for Reproductive Rights, Refugee Rights, NAACP, MALDEF, the Trevor Project, and so on.
I wish to see the formation of a third political party in the United States, led by those who are willing to speak truth to power like Evan McMullen. It is shameful how many elected representatives will not speak out. Those who do: trust me, we’re watching and taking notes. And we will be bringing all our friends and audiences to bear to help you win.
I will be watching closely to see which representatives rubber-stamp harmful policies and appointees, and I will vote against them across the ticket, on every single ticket I can vote on.
I will actively support all efforts to make the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact happen, to reform the electoral college.
To the extent that my schedule allows, I will participate in protests to combat policies that I believe are harmful to Americans.
