The Story of SMART (Sensible Messaging Activities To Restore Truth) Groups
A Call to Action
The country is terribly divided today on the direction in
which we should be moving to address our many problems.
Surely we all want the same things: a reasonable quality of
life for everyone, opportunities for our children to have a good education, and
a clean and safe environment, to name just a few.
Unitarian Universalist Association past president Bill
Sinkford has often voiced his concern about the growth in power of certain
groups in the country that seek to make changes in our society. Changes that
are in direct opposition to our Unitarian Universalist values that are
consistent with long-standing and basic human and family values of all peoples.
He has noted that these groups represent special interests
having goals that are often counter to the needs of the “Common Good” and he
urges Unitarian Universalists to find ways to move beyond our congregational
discussions and express our views more publicly.
Another past Unitarian Universalist Association president
Peter Morales has voiced the same concerns as Bill Sinkford and has urged us to
reach out to form coalitions with the many likeminded people who are not of our
faith but hold the same values that we do.
Sensible Messaging Activity to Restore Truth groups
(SMART)
Citizens groups like the one in the Venice-Sarasota area
(given the name “SMART”) are one approach.
How it started
Somewhat over 10 years ago, several people were discussing a
particularly offensive article in one of our local (Sarasota – Venice)
newspapers. We felt strongly that the blatant misinformation in the article
desperately called for a reply. We all had some experience writing letters to
the editor, and thought that perhaps if we all wrote, maybe one of our letters
would get published. The idea of helping one another to “speak out” in this way
has quickly spread by word of mouth. Starting with our group of four, our
area’s SMART group has now grown to almost 150.
The SMART group is an informal one, generally non-partisan
and representing no particular organization. We write individually but support
one another and share information. We don’t control what members write but the
issues are most often non-partisan and we strive to write our letters in that
vein. We have had many letters published, mainly as letters to editors, but we
are also starting to learn to communicate our views through Facebook, blogs,
Twitter and other venues.
We have a collection of letters now filed by topic, a fairly
comprehensive set of talking points on many of the major issues, and other
guidance on effective writing. We believe that these files will aid us in
writing future letters since many of the issues seem to come up repeatedly. We
would be glad to share these files with others to support the goal of having
groups like SMART throughout Florida. We think this is very important as
discussed further below.
We believe that it would be effective to form similar
communication groups within Unitarian Universalist congregations in other areas
of Florida. Surely, membership would soon spread to like-thinking non-UU
neighbors as it has in the Venice-Sarasota area.
This activity is a cross-congregational effort in support of
the witness of Unitarian Universalist values, but of course does not indicate
any official endorsement of particular letters that may be written. The Rev.
Kenneth G. Hurto, Lead Executive for the Southern Region, Unitarian
Universalist Association, has supported this program with the goal of having it
spread throughout the state.
In a perfect world
Ideally, if all of us were given truthful information about
the issues important to us, we would be inclined to choose national leaders who
would act in our best interests (and that of the Common Good). We would not
have the stalemate that we now have.
Unfortunately, we are far from that ideal situation. The
public often does not get truthful and complete information on the issues. Part
of that is due to human nature. Once we form an opinion, we tend to stick with
it. If new information is presented to us, we may rationalize our rejection of
it, and may never even be aware of the new information if we have prejudged its
source. (This is a whole area of discussion unto itself.)
Another problem is that there is a great deal of evidence
showing the willingness for certain groups to distort information given to the
public. It is in our favor that their deceit is often blatant, and if the truth
is presented effectively, it can prevail.
Bottom line in a nutshell
It is being observed more and more that behind all of the
hullabaloo and rhetoric, what must occur to get the country to move in any
direction is this:
Those of us embracing one side’s viewpoints on the
issues must convince enough people who are on the “other” side, and those who
are unsure, to join with us. Only then will we elect local and national leaders
who have a sufficient consensus to pass legislation to move us ahead (in some
direction). Some analysts predict that this could take several election cycles.
It is the goal of groups like SMART to work toward
influencing this persuasion process. We must not let the special interests
overrule the needs of the rest of us, i.e., the Common Good.
Please consider starting a group like SMART in your area.
It only needs one person to start…but two or three is better…(or 150).
Contact Brad Hardin bradhardin1963@gmail.com (941)
223-6849
{Your energy and creative ideas would be very welcome
when we could further discuss how we can most effectively communicate our
viewpoints in support of the Common Good.}
