RECRUITMENT – THERE’S STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

The resistance is growing quickly, and more importantly — we’re organizing quickly. But more of us are needed. ALL of us are needed — liberals, progressives, conservatives, libertarians Green Party, blacks, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, whites, minorities. Immigrants and natives. The marginalized and the privileged. Women, men, gay, straight, rich, young, old, poor. We all matter and we are all needed — that is the message of those of us who #StandIndivisible. We stand in stark contrast to the message of the other side, which is that soon — as soon as they can make it happen — only the rich, white, and powerful will matter. They’re not even conservatives — they are only using true conservatives to reach their own ends.

It’s critical right now that we reach out to our family, friends, and neighbors and get them involved. Every last one of the 65,844,954 people who did NOT vote Trump must now be reached and asked to resist his cancerous authoritarian regime which is eating up democracy as fast as it can gobble. Make no mistake, your rights are being busily eroded by the Republican Congress as we speak. There is no time to waste.

Here are ten ways you can recruit:

1. BOOST THE SIGNAL. If you feel comfortable doing so, be loud and proud on social media. Repost and retweet items from this website, the Facebook page, and our Twitter accounts.

2. MAKE A SPECIAL FILTER ON YOUR OWN TIMELINE. Ask Facebook friends who like and comment on your political posts if they would like to be part of a special filter where you post action items, both local and national. Tag those people every time you post. Then repost action items and ask them to like your post when they’ve done them.

3. CONTACT PEOPLE PRIVATELY, 1:1. Invite them to meetings and actions. Remind them of these events the day before AND the day of. PM them to ask if they will be there.

4. ANSWER WITH A CALL TO ACTION. Every time one of your friends complains or links an article, respond with “Join #Indivisible” and tell them how.

5. REACH OUT TO PROGRESSIVE CHURCHES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. If you attend or have friends who attend a progressive church, ask if you can announce meetings and share information about the Tuesday conference calls. Talk to leaders and council members. Invite them to join.

6. REACH OUT TO PEOPLE OF COLOR. It’s vital that our movement be diverse —this is one very important way in which we are different from the Tea Party. Reach out to black churches and civic groups, to elders in the community who remember the civil rights movement, to students and friends. Ask them to come to a meeting.

7. HELP PEOPLE BECOME ACTIVE. Many people feel overwhelmed and alone right now. Let them know they’re not. Let them know we are their tribe. If they feel they can’t come to meetings, show them how to find calls to action and scripts (on our website) or send them to them personally. Lots of older folks, for example, don’t feel up to coming to meetings — but they sure can make phone calls and write letters. Offer to drive people to meetings or help them dial into a conference call. Find a way to get the information to them. Give them a little training and then ask them to ask their friends to do it, too!

8. BE SPECIFIC. Ask people to volunteer for specific activities.
• “Would you be willing to commit to calling your representatives’ offices three-four times a week on specific issues? I can provide you contact info, action items, and scripts.”
• “We’re looking for someone to help research bills in District 31. I know you have lots of experience in research — would you be wiling to help out?”
• “I think you would be amazing in a leadership role. With your social media footprint, you could really help boost the signal on the issues we’re trying to highlight. Would you be willing to do that?”

9. EXPLAIN IMPACT & ACTIVITIES. Let people know how their involvement will impact our cause. Show them how they personally can make a difference. Two instances you can cite:
• The Goodlatte Amendment, the recent GOP effort to dismantle the Office of Congressional Ethics. Indivisible activists and others bombarded their representatives’ local offices and successfully demanded that they vote down the amendment.
• District 25 recently put Rep. Roger Williams, himself under investigation for ethics violations, on notice by staging a silent protest at one of his public appearances. And they got his attention.

10. MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WE’RE NOT ASKING FOR THEIR LIVES. Even in an emergency situation like this one, people have lives. They have families, jobs, and their own projects to attend to. Make sure when you speak to people, you make it clear that you are asking them to donate what they can, whether it’s a few minutes a day, a couple of hours a week, or more. Point out to them:
• If they are worried about the Trump regime, doing something is better than doing nothing.
• Becoming part of a determined, hard-working, supportive, accomplished group is a great way to begin to feel stronger and less alone; not to mention the good feeling that comes from making a positive difference, helping others, and learning new things.
• They will get the support they need to accomplish the action items. And we have work for EVERYONE. No one has to do the things they don’t really want to do. We will find something for them and their contribution will be important and appreciated.
• They will be part of a community that cares for and appreciates them.

The old adage “There’s strength in numbers” stands true. Let’s continue to add to our strength so we can ensure that our nation continues to stand #indivisible for truth, justice, and liberty.