Calling one’s congressperson is for obvious reasons the most effective way to participate in American political discourse. Yet with each Representative representing some  500,000-600,000 constituents, it’s necessary to keep a realistic (not pessimistic) perspective on how much your opinion can affect policy. There are a couple of obvious things — if your congressperson is not middle-of-the-road, asking him to transgress party platform lines is not going to change his opinion. Additionally, responding to legislation that has already passed means you’re too late right off the bat. Does that mean you should’t call? No. You should call even if you will not get your way, because that is how you are heard, and that is how we know that constituents are not complacent.

By far the worst sin concerned Americans make when taking action is calling the congressperson of a district in which they have not established constituency. Reasons for doing so include ignorance, and more justifiably, calling regarding a committee. However, there are a number of tools to help you check constituency; here in San Antonio we usually use the Bexar County election’s homepage because the vast majority of misdirected calls are due to changing district lines.

That is no excuse. If you are calling because you want to know who your congressman is, that’s fine, and we’re more than happy to get you where you need to go. Otherwise, it’s time to go back to government class.

America is a Representative Democracy.

If you are not a constituent of a congressperson, they do NOT represent you. They are not obligated to listen to you just because you pay taxes. Individuals with limited sight get pissy and tell all of their friends when I explain to them that their taxes go toward their own representative. You don’t vote for 434 of 435 Representatives, and you don’t vote for 48 out of 50 of United States Senators. They really don’t have to care about you outside of the possibility that you might come campaign against them — and that’s a job done by party organizations, anyway.

That isn’t to say there aren’t times when it is totally appropriate to contact other congressmen — but it’s worth knowing that nine times out of ten, you’re going to get redirected back to the office you should really be calling.