Visible Vote App
As Catholics it is our duty to pay close attention to what is going on in the political sphere. Consistently there are bills and movements being introduced into Congress that are undermining our Christian and Catholic values. That isn’t to say that all bills are bad, just that many of them push a pro-death agenda, especially when it comes to the recent health care reform.
Face it, most Catholics in the United States choose to remain blissfully ignorant of what is going on. The US Bishops have spoken out against several bills in recent days, which has brought more Catholics to witness what is really going on. The fact is, if we don’t patrol the government, keep tabs on elected officials and communicate with them, we are nothing but pawns without a say.
However, it is time consuming to look up the bills that go through Congress and read through them. Who has the time to compare what our senators and representatives voted as compared to what the everyday person would vote for? How does one go about finding out what the general opinion is of the people representing us in Congress?
There is a great mobile/desktop app and website that allow the average person to do just that. http://www.visiblevote.us and the corresponding app, Visible Vote, are a great resource for the everyday person to sound their voice and to find out what is going on in the government.
The app/website does require a free signup and for individuals to put their name, age, political affiliation and zip code. This information will get shared with your congressmen/women when the site/app reports back to them.
The app gives you the current approval ratings of the congress people for your state and how they compare to the way you would have voted on a particular bill.
The app also gives you the latest news about the people representing your state.
Now, here comes the single best part of the website and app. The Visible Vote site and app are built around a simple premise, the everyday person having access to bills in congress and having the option to vote on them. Visible Vote gives an overview of a bill, its costs and what its main goals are, as well as a link to the bill itself so that the average person can read the entire thing! It is also possible to vote for or against a particular bill, including bills that have already passed, and Visible Vote will then send a weekly update to your states congressmen/women with how you voted.
Basically, it lets the everyday person tell their congresspeople how they want to vote on a particular issue. It also compares a person’s individual vote to their congresspeople.
This is just a brief look of what Visible Vote can do. Visible Vote also has polls to participate in, the ability to write to your congresspeople and the ability to join up with different action groups, either pre-defined or ones that the individual can choose. A user can also compare their vote on a particular bill or issue to the vote of others in their state and in the country.
Best of all, the service and the app provided by Visible Voice are 100% free!
Finally, there is an easy way to see what the members of congress are up to and to let the average American’s voice be heard. While it is no replacement for a letter in regard to a particular issue, it is a great way to be involved.
It is important for the Catholics of the world to participate in the government in their country to ensure that moral and social justice is held to. Again, if the average Catholic ignores what is going on in government, that person is just along for the ride, and is doing a grave injustice to themselves, to their country and to the Church.
As a final note, Catholics also have an obligation to vote according to their conscience. There is a mid-term election coming up this November and to really make a change, everyone needs to do their part and vote.
If people don’t like what is going on in congress they should research their candidates and vote. Everyone should be involved and be an active participant in government affairs. Otherwise, everyone is just going with the popular vote, the popular crowd and the popular moral teaching, which is not, as everyone knows, Christ’s teaching.
God Bless,
Chris
PS There is a Facebook app as well but, I no longer endorse or use Facebook.
09 Jun 2010 ctlw83 7 comments
I’ve been a fan of Google’s Calendar feature for a few years, as well as a user of Gmail for all of my email needs since before it came out of beta testing. Google recently answered one of my personal productivity “wish list” items with its launch of a new “Tasks” management system.
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