For the past several weeks we’ve been discussing various aspects of the downfall of American culture and government. Now that you’ve been reminded about some of the detrimental politics and ideas bombarding our country, I hope that rather than being discouraged, you are fairly screaming the question, “What can I do to help stop this?” Because that’s exactly what this week’s commentary, as well as next week’s, will address.

We’ve based this series on Patrick Smith’s book Are We Losing America and Smith concludes by discussing the actions that average citizens, people such as you and I, can take to help America return to the principles, values and beliefs that made her great.

The first and most basic political activity that every eligible citizen should be involved in should be obvious—and that is voting. In a democratic republic where our representatives are elected, voting is a critical and basic civic responsibility. In fact, our system presumes a knowledgeable and involved electorate. Voting is an easy way for us to voice our opinion. This is especially true in a state such as Wisconsin where registering to vote is quite easy and can, with proper identification, even be done on election day.

One of the main reasons people give for not voting is that they don’t think they are knowledgeable enough on the issues and candidates to vote. To a degree that’s understandable, but there are some fairly easy ways to get educated. First, know who your elected officials are—at all levels of government. Every level affects you, and you elect representatives at every level.

Once you know who your elected officials are, get informed about the issues and about what your officials are doing. Listen to the news on tv or radio, read the local paper, visit reliable news sources on the Internet, take part in the political discussions at work, stay in touch with organizations such as Wisconsin Family Council that can help educate you on the issues that will affect how you vote.

At election time, to find out who you’ll be voting on, visit your municipal clerk’s office, either through the Internet or in person. Municipal clerks will post a sample ballot a few weeks prior to the election and most local papers will run a sample ballot in the days leading up to voting day.

Once you have a list of candidates, you can begin researching their views and positions on the issues. One way to do this is again through the Internet; search for the candidate’s own website or for a local newspaper article on the candidate. Attend candidate forums. Call the candidates directly or through their campaign headquaters.

You can also use voter education resources from groups such as Wisconsin Family Council. For each partisan election cycle, we publish our Voter Information Publication that covers state-level and federal-level issues and candidates. We also provide voter education information for other statewide non-partisan elections, such as state Supreme Court and department of public instruction elections.

Another way that you can help turn this country around is simply by contacting your elected officials. Many times representatives are determined to vote a certain way on an issue—determined, that is, until they begin to hear from their constituents, who are expressing a different opinion. Then, suddenly, they aren’t so determined! Remember—politicians see the light when they feel the heat!

Such interaction will require you to know at least something about the issues. However, don’t think for a minute that you know too little on an issue to speak up. Oftentimes legislators and their staff will understand your view, even if you get a few facts wrong. It is also important that we thank our representatives when they vote according to our beliefs.

This brings us back to our original point. To be involved, we need to know who our elected officials are. To find out who your federal-level and state-level officials are simply visit the Wisconsin State Legislature’s website at www.legis.state.wi.us, or call Wisconsin Family Council toll-free at 888-378-7395, and we can get that information for you. Call your municipal clerk to determine your local elected officials, your local school district for school board members, and your county clerk for your county supervisor.

The final suggestion today is to attend some of the local meetings that usually take place about once a month in every city, town, and county. This includes school board, common council, county and various committee meetings that involve decisions affecting you every day.

Friends, God has blessed America with a participatory form of government, and that form of government requires our participation in order to work. Quite honestly, we are reaping what we have sown by our non-participation over the last several decades. Involvement in the government God has given us is a matter of stewardship. To bring about change, we must take our stewardship seriously.

For Wisconsin Family Council, I’m Julaine Appling reminding you the Prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”