Been meaning for a while to write about online lobbying, and how much of a good thing it is for us to get involved in. Especially for students, who are often saying "we have no money, so we can't give", "and we're too busy (or possibly lazy ;-) to give much of our time" when it comes to charities and that whole aspect of being a Jesus-follower.
First up, I so, so strongly believe that social action and social justice on both a local and global scale is a vital part of living the Jesus life. Jesus said: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."*
And that's part of our duty and our joy, as Jesus-followers, to continue to bring in the Jubilee – "the year of the Lord's favour".
There are three different places at the moment that I get updates from, who lobby governments on justice and poverty issues – from Zimbabwe to Fair Trade Chocolate.
It only takes about two minutes to:
- Read the brief.
- Decide whether to respond.
- Customise the template email.
- Press submit.
Two minutes which could add to up to, at least, some small change, and at most something world-changing. There is very little to lose. And, for the skeptics – these campaigns actually achieve stuff.
So, I mentioned three sites I'm subscribed to:
Tearfund's Superbadger
This is Tearfund's facebook app – so quick and easy from Facebook. Every week or so, a new "badger" comes up which you can respond to. As a cheeky extra, you then gain badger points for the amount of badgering (lobbying) you do, and whether you invite friends.
Tearfund engage with environmental and justice issues both here in the UK, as well as the huge global justice issues. And they have a Christian ethos – as you might know.
Linky Linky
The ONE Campaign
The One campaign is pretty USAmerican, but came out of what was the Make Poverty History campaign which ran for a year (remember that one). Sometimes they send American stuff out and right now their covering the American elections – which isn't hugely relevant, except that it's about choosing who the next most powerful man in the world will be. Think about it.
Linky Linky
Avaaz.org – the world in action
I'm not really sure where this site came from – I found it around the time of the Zimbabwe elections. But it is incredible. It's about harnessing and continuing to motivate that wave of young people who quit school over the Iraq war and are outraged about the situation in Zim. They usually focus on the huge, big issues on a worldwide scale.
Linky Linky
The best way to keep up to date with these things is to sign up for email updates – so they send you the most vital campaigns for you to spend your two minutes on regularly.
Anyway – there we go, so take it or leave it.
* Luke 4:18-19 ESV
