Can you hear me now?

When deciding to write about immigration for my political blog, I had one thing in mind: learning. It is safe to say I know nearly nothing about immigration other than what I read in the article in my previous post and that it is a controversial political topic. I did not have a specific idea in mind for making change in relation to immigration. I simply wanted to learn more about the topic and possibly form my own opinion on the matter, assuming that I become well informed on the issue. As a result, I would like my political blog, “One nation under immigration,” to be informative and open to interpretation, learning, and opinion. I intend to include issues and arguments that both support and stand against immigration. When discussing an issue such as immigration, it is easy for the reader to think of themselves and how immigration affects their lives whether it be through taxes, safety, etc., therefore, many forget the impact that immigration has on the immigrants as well. In this blog, I will explore the other side, the lift of the immigrant, the reasons they immigrated, and true stories of immigrants. Overall, I want the reader to learn and form an opinion with me.

Being a nonprofessional writer, it is fair to think and/or assume that no one will read your writing. More importantly, it is possible to avoid this feeling of not being heard. Shamoon suggests different strategic activities public writers can employ to ensure success in public writing. The first concept that I found interesting was to have a “civic life.” In doing this, it is possible to gain support and have the opportunity to practice speaking effectively about problems affecting our lives. This allows us to become more articulate about our cause and potentially be heard. Writing publically, and perhaps starting locally allows us to share our own experiences with the problem we choose to write about and offer solutions that could possibly gain the attention of someone important. 

Of course it is natural to feel that your writing will not be read or avoided, however, writing and getting it “out there” is the first step. With all the different types of online writing platforms, being found or recognized is easier than one would think. The act of combining platforms may increase your chance of being heard. For example, to promote the success of my blog, I could “follow” those tweeting on my topic, tweet about the topic, and tweet individual blog posts, or a link to my blog on my account. This is one way to promote my blog and political cause and eventually be heard.