My first day looked a little something like this (protesters make everything exciting):
So I’m interning at the Phoenix office of Senator Jeff Flake (who was born in Snowflake, Arizona. Ha). I would say McCain gets most of the attention—someone actually called our office trying to get ahold of McCain because no one was picking up at his office—so here’s a picture of Flake in case you've never seen him:
He's a Republican (it's Arizona), and he's been serving as a senator since 2013. Fun fact: one of his sons helps out with the one n ten location in Queen Creek. So shout-out to Stirling (who gave me my fun fact).
Basically, my work at his office consists of answering phone calls—and frantically trying to research the obscure bills that people call in about—, logging opinions, and assuring the angry constituents threatening to have me fired that I am not uneducated, nor am I on drugs. And counting envelopes. Sometimes, I am grateful to be counting envelopes. (Someone at the office told me that when he interned, a person told him that she hoped his children died). I definitely come home with a story each night.
Before starting, I had always imagined that when people called in to political offices, they were answered by a secretary painting her nails. But we really do log every opinion, read each letter (something to keep in mind: put a return address on whatever you send), and care about politics. And everyone is incredibly nice and willing to help out the poor, new intern. Granted, I’ve only been here a week. But I haven’t met anyone like this guy:
I guess what I’ve learned is this: if you have an [educated] opinion and the time to make a phone call, do it. And encourage your friends to do it as well because it can make a difference. If seeing Flake’s picture makes you angry, CALL HIM AND TELL HIM (or me, but please be nice).
Plus, I like coming in and seeing protesters. They are a nice reminder that democracy, in all this political turmoil, is still around.
Putting the bad motivational speaker stuff aside. . .
I guess now would be the point to talk about my project developments. At this point, I think it would be interesting to explore the link between political efficacy and internet access (and quality).
The difficulty will, of course, be tying it back to Athens, but I'm a creative writer so I think I can manage.
The difficulty will, of course, be tying it back to Athens, but I'm a creative writer so I think I can manage.
There’s a really interesting website linked here:
that details the differences in broadband internet throughout the counties and cities in Arizona. While our state is the 28th most connected, there is also a large gap between counties like Maricopa, where 97.6% have access to 25 mbps, and Apache where 6.5% do. A lot of this can be tied to social problems (wealth disparity) and so I think it would be an interesting area to explore.
In Haiti, the radio is the primary tool that citizens use to keep up with politics. In the United States, the internet serves an important role in how citizens receive news, hear other opinions, and connect with one another. The internet is part of the reason why I find myself barraged with phone calls minutes after the Senator has voted or spoken on an issue. That and C-SPAN, but we won't get into that here.
So those are my thoughts. And of course, if you have the time to voice yours, I highly encourage you to call the Phoenix office of Senator Flake between 1 and 5 PM MWF. Or you can visit.
Hi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteYour research sounds very interesting so far! In what ways are you going to compare Athens with American society exactly? Also, Might another complication arise that only a select group of people in Athens could vote while compared to the vast amount of eligible voters in America?
DeleteI think I'm going to do my best to compare political efficacy in Athens and America. I've come to realize that political efficacy is something that does not hold as much research behind it as it does in the US, so I'm thinking I might have to use political participation in Athens as a starting point and use further research to link political participation to political efficacy.
As to your mentioning the different voting populations, that's definitely true--along with the size of Athens, there was a different voting population than in the US. But there are similarities as well--eligible voters came from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, possessed a variety of jobs, and varying levels of education.
Hey Nicole! I love your humor in this post :D It was absolutely delightful! This may be a silly question, but does culture affect exactly how many people use the internet? Maybe some people in rural areas simply have other priorities and don't get around to using the internet. Or are you only talking about access? Thanks, and I can't wait until your next post :D
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question, and I guess my answer would be that a variety of factors go into it, including culture. For instance, I referenced Apache county in my post. Apache is about 70% Native American and holds the largest percentage of Reservation land of all the counties in the US, and nation-wide the FCC reported that only 41% of Native Americans living on tribal land had access to broadband. One article I read said this was the result of tribal land often being located in remote areas, Native American populations being some of the poorest in the country, as well as existing tribal rules regarding telecommunications providers and what they can and cannot do regarding the land.
DeleteSo I hope you can see how economics, geography, and culture all come together here. I'd imagine their relative strength to one another changes based on the area.
Hey Nicole! That sounds like a super interesting first week! I'm curious as to how much Senator Flake directly interacts with the concerned constituents. Does he address their concerns often, or is that more reserved for interns like yourself? Additionally, I thinks it's amazing how you have a creative writing background, and I'm super excited to see if you tie that talent into your final project. It might help to make this somewhat daunting topic a little more relatable for the day to day citizen. I look forwards to following your progress in your internship!
ReplyDeleteAre you a plant? Just kidding. I've only been at the office for a week, and so the Senator's been in DC for the most part. I think we'll have to wait to see how recess goes down.
DeleteArticles like this: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2017/01/24/john-mccain-jeff-flake-voice-mail-full/96971328/
do bother me a bit (though I can't speak for McCain's office). I know our office IS processing a high number of calls, but the article seems to imply that everyone's call goes straight to voicemail, which simply isn't true--I know this because I speak to real people. I (and countless others) log their opinions. And the Senator looks at this log every day.
So I guess that's my response. I hope it helps.
Hey Nicole! That is so cool that you get to work at his office. That experience must be so cool! What surprised you most about working in the office?
ReplyDeleteI would say the range of constituents who call--just the variety in zip codes, ages, and concerns.
DeleteInstead of limiting yourself to just internet, you could examine all media in general, and if you focus on the internet more for the United States, you could then at least talk about the public forums in Ancient Greece. Either way, I am glad to know that people don't slack off at the senator's office. How many people have called or emailed the office since you have been there? Has it been more or less than you expected? Cheers
ReplyDeleteFor the last part of your question, I am not completely sure. I know that we logged about 400 calls on Friday, but that only relates to opinion calls, and specifically: opinions that could be logged. For instance, I had one constituent call to complain about "that man" before hanging up. Was it Trump, Flake, Steve Mnuchin, Scott Pruitt? I dunno. In addition to those anomalies, there are calls that by their nature won't get logged. People often call with casework questions, or just asking for further information on a topic. As for emails, thankfully I don't have to manage those, so I really don't know.
DeleteAs for looking at media in general, as an ex-AP Seminar kid my brain still tells me, "Narrow, narrow, narrow your focus." I do think looking at public forums would be interesting--perhaps comparing them to the modern internet forum, although obviously their function and relation to government is a bit different. We'll see, though. As always, it really depends on the availability of previous sources--what other scholars have researched--but I'll certainly check it out.
Hi Nicole! I was surprised at how working at a senator's office would be like; I definitely didn't expect it to be how you said it was. I think that finding a connection between internet access and political efficacy is a great idea. How would you be able to tie all this back to Athens though?
ReplyDeleteYay, education!
DeleteObviously, ancient Athenians did not have internet connection. Perhaps (and this is just me throwing around ideas), the debate over public ignorance that featured a prominent role in the thought of Greek political theorists and thinkers could be connected to the information revolution that is tied to the internet. This in turn might affect political efficacy (particularly internal: the belief that a person can understand politics).
I think there are many different avenues to take (Aidan pointed out another one above, and I'm sure my faculty adviser has ideas as well).
Hi Nicole! Some of the callers definitely seem... passionate. However, I think it's interesting that people continue to voice their opinion both by calling and physically protesting outside of the office. What are the more common topics people are calling in to give their opinions about?
ReplyDeleteI would say the most common calls last week (in no particular order) were: the cabinet pick of the day, requests for a town hall, and people calling to voice their support for the EPA and the ACA.
DeleteI'm beginning to realize how incredibly difficult it would be to be a senator, because you have to balance your personal view of what's best, the constituents voicing their concerns, and somehow estimate how many people DID NOT call because they were happy with the current situation (we often have polite people call the office, but most are advocating some point of change. I don't think I've ever had someone call to say they were content with the status quo--those people don't feel the need to phone in).
And Russia! They call about Russia!
DeleteHI Nicole! I was really surprised to hear about your job at Senator Flake's office. It sounds pretty hectic but rewarding. It's good to know that people's phone calls and letters are being taken with care and seriousness. I think you draw a good connection between internet access and political efficacy.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I think we really do our best, but obviously we are all human, and it definitely gets hectic sometimes (I've begun hearing phantom phone-calls when I'm in the copy-room. Oh dear).
DeleteHello Nicole! I hope answering phone calls wasn't as bad as it sounded. What was the weirdest call you received? Anyways, I am glad that you put an emphasis on political efficacy in your project. I think that participating in the democratic process is important and can make a difference. For example, voting. Do svidaniya. (Oh no!)
ReplyDeleteHiya! I have to strike a balance between blogging about my experience and keeping constituent information private, but I would definitely say that the angry woman who had to be told half-way through her call that she was on the phone with Senator Flake's office (not McCain's) was amusing. I'd also just like to voice my respect for the people who call in to oppose a list of laws by NAME (I'm calling to oppose SB 1. . .)
DeleteAnd, yes, voting is important. A few people call the office to tell me (in a variety of colorful words) that they will not be voting for Flake in the next election, and I think: at least they're showing up at the voter's booth.
Lastly: ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Wow! This all sounds even more cool and interesting than I had imagined! Do you often get the time to talk politics with people at the office? If so, is there anything in particular that you've learned from these conversations?
ReplyDeleteMost of the time, I'm tangled in phone cords and envelopes, but I do like to eavesdrop some. I try to avoid directly political conversations (probably because I'm a closeted Democrat), but hopefully as I get more comfortable and Trump's administration descends into further chaos, I'll be able to come up with a better response to your question.
DeleteHi Nicole. It sure sounds like you're going to be busy at Senator Flake's office. What are some things that the protestors are protesting, and how much influence do they have? I look forward to hearing more next week.
ReplyDeleteFrom the signs I read, there are a whole range of things--Trump's connections to Russia, cabinet appointments. There was recently a protest in Mesa petitioning Senator Flake for a town hall.
ReplyDeleteI think influence is a difficult thing to measure. They certainly have the power to influence the upcoming senate election (by voting), influence the media (by appearing in articles), and influence the office (by calling in). But this is all just coming from a single week's experience, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
Wow! I am so sorry that you are stuck in the middle of all of this turmoil. On the other hand, it's not boring.
ReplyDeleteI called Flake and wrote to him, and I promise I was very nice.
Your life sounds so interesting, but you may want to start doing yoga. :)
It's definitely not boring, and I really do like talking to people and coming home with interesting stories at night (and blogging about a few of them). Especially compared to BASIS, it's pretty chill.
DeleteAnd that makes me so happy to hear that you contacted the office. I wish I could have picked up your call! (I'm always hoping I'll recognize a voice).
Hi Nicole!
DeleteYou sound like you had a very busy week! What did the protesters do, did they just stand there chanting or something? I've walked close to a protest before and they just stood there holding signs.
On a more serious note do you by any chance know if there were protests in Athens?
Thank you Kevin. I didn't really get the chance to interact with the protesters, but they WERE chanting. I think the point is that Camelback is a busy road and these constituents are trying to draw attention to the issues they support--through waving, funny posters, etc.
DeleteThere were certainly protests in Ancient Athens, but I'd imagine they were a bit different from what I see outside the office. If I had all the time in the world, I think it would be interesting to look at how protesting has changed throughout history. (I was reading an article about the Woman's March discussing how the internet enabled news of it to travel fast--and for the March to gain momentum within only a few months of planning.)
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ReplyDelete