I just finished reading an interesting (IMHO) article from Paul Loeb (author of "The Soul of the Citizen") on Huffington Post about the importance of personal contact when trying to elicit support for an important issue. (Read the full article here.) Mr. Loeb points out how easy it has become for us to sign an online petition and feel as though we have accomplished some great democratic feat. Or how a re-posting on Facebook highlighting a recent injustice from a major retailer makes us feel as though we have enlisted our friends in the boycott. How many of us on DoPeace have fallen into this false sense of accomplishment? (
Confession time: This is my normal MO. For example, I'll post this blog on DoPeace and Facebook today, but I don't plan to call anyone to discuss it.)
Loeb offers some data from MoveOn.org campaigns that shows the relative ineffectiveness of such approaches and how phone calling and door knocking can really make the difference that we seek. How can we better use the personal touch to further engage our friends and neighbors in the cause of peace?

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