I sent Richard Lugar (R Indiana) an email a few weeks ago thanking him for his support with the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Legislation Act of 2007. I just received an email from Senator Lugar and this is what it said....
Dear David:
Thank you for contacting me.
I appreciate your sharing with me your support for the Local
Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, often
referred to as "hate crimes" legislation. I share your support for this
legislation, and recently voted to include it as an amendment to the
Defense Authorization bill.
As Mayor of Indianapolis in the late 1960's and early 1970's,
I oversaw a big city police department that had to deal with many
crimes and incidents involving hatred and discrimination. Several
months after I assumed office, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was
assassinated. Many cities across the country experienced riots and
burnings after the shooting. In Indianapolis, we did our best to hold
the community together. On some occasions maintaining order and
the rule of law was a difficult task that required tremendous amounts
of city resources, a no-nonsense approach to law enforcement, and a
willingness by the entire community to listen to each other. At stake
was the stability and peace of the entire community.
This experience taught me that maintaining order in our
society cannot be taken for granted and that a single act of hate, such
as the assassination of Dr. King, can have far-reaching consequences.
Hate crimes legislation will not prevent all acts of hate. But
as a former mayor, I believe in providing local authorities and the
federal government the tools they need to deal with hate crimes. It is
particularly important that communities can call on the federal
government to supplement their resources and expertise when they
are faced with a potentially volatile circumstance. We must work
together at all levels of government and throughout society toward a
coordinated effort to stop violent crime.
I will continue to follow the progress of this legislation with
our mutual interest in mind. Again, thank you for sharing your
support for this legislation with me.
Sincerely,
Richard G. Lugar
United States Senator
I suppose it is possible that most of the email he receives is very negative and angry, and perhaps my email jumped out at him because it was so friendly and positive. But what ever the reason, this just shows us that our senators do read their email. And while it is important to tell our government officials about those things we object to and disagree with, I think it is equally important to praise them when they do something good.
So, email your representatives both in the House and in the Senate. It may or may not do any good in the long run, but at least you will have voiced your opinion. After all, they are supposed to be representing US.