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| Second Week of Advent, December 9-15 |
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Action for the Second Week of Advent |
Pax Christi USA is encouraging its members, friends and all people of conscience and good will to undertake one specific action for peace during each week of Advent. For each week, Pax Christi USA will suggest one coordinated action in which individuals and groups from around the nation may participate together. This week's action, meeting with our elected officials, is aimed at reaching out to and influencing our representatives and senators regarding the war and occupation of Iraq.
Many of our elected officials were elected based on their supposed promises to end the war and occupation. Additionally, other elected officials are transitioning fully into campaign mode for 2008 and now is the time to let them know that your support for them will be in large part determined by what actions they take in the coming months to end the occupation and bring the troops home.
In a nutshell, this is the primary message we are asking folks to make, keeping it short and simple and to the point:
1) All U.S. forces must be removed and the permanent bases constructed over the past three-plus years must be abandoned.
2) Second, negotiations must commence among Iraqis to discern and establish a system of government that they choose. The United Nations, supported by leadership from the Arab League and others in the region should be the conveners of such national reconciliation talks.
3) Third, the international community, most notably the US and Europe, should establish a Fund for Reconstruction in Iraq. Billions of dollars were promised to rebuild Iraq and very little has actually been spent on actual reconstruction. This fund must be established and overseen by a truly neutral body—perhaps drawing on Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics—to ensure that real reconstruction is the focus, and a fair and transparent process for contracting is implemented that takes a preferential option for funding Iraqi-owned businesses that will employ Iraqi citizens in the effort.
It is time to end this war and occupation, bring the troops home, leave no bases behind, and assist in rebuilding Iraq.
NOTE: If your elected officials cannot or will not meet with you or offer an alternative time for a meeting, we suggest holding a rally outside that official's local office. You can use the same major talking points listed above in your leaflets, signs, etc; and you can use the lack of a meeting to call attention to your representative's record on the war and their refusal to respond to constituents.
Below are some tips for arranging and conducting a meeting with your elected officials:
Requesting a Meeting:
Request a meeting in writing and then follow up with a phone call.
Indicate specific times that you are available to meet.
Indicate the issue or legislation to be discussed.
Specify in your written and oral communication that you are a constituent of the elected official.
Preparing for the Meeting:
Determine who will participate in the meeting. Be sure as many groups as possible who will be impacted by the legislation/issue are represented. Limit the number of participants to no more than five.
Decide what points will be emphasized, who will open the conversation and what delegation members will take the lead on each talking point.
Determine a clear goal and what action you want taken.
During the Meeting:
Be on time—elected officials run on a very tight schedule.
Be cordial. Introduce yourself and thank the official for the opportunity to meet.
Stay focused. You will have very little time to make your case so stay on topic.
Before wrapping up the meeting, ask your elected official to set a specific timeline for when he/she will make a decision about his/her position on the issue/legislation.
Thank your elected official and restate the agreed upon deadlines for his/her response.
Following the Meeting:
Send a written thank you to the elected official.
Promptly provide additional materials or information requested by the elected official.
Check back with the elected official for his/her position regarding your issue on the agreed upon deadline. If he/she has not made a decision by the stated deadline, ask the official to commit to another deadline—be friendly but persistent.
Please email us at johnnypcusa@yahoo.com and let us know if you were able to schedule a meeting.
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