Member-only story
It has gotten too easy to demand change
(Writer’s note: originally published in December 2013 on a personal blog)
Winter is here, and with it a new onslaught of worthy causes is filling up my inbox.
Save the Mexican sea turtles? Sure. Email my governor? I’m on it! Protest sugary cereals? Why not?
Sigh. Sign.
It’s official: I have PFS.
PFS, or Petition Fatigue Syndrome is striking Americans in record numbers. Though it is an affliction mainly seen in the computer-literate do-gooder, it can strike any time a socially conscious adult signs up for one too many advocacy email lists.
In the old days, I’m told petitioners had to go door-to-door, explaining their cause to neighbors and strangers alike, answering questions and gathering signatures. Real ones. With ink. Even outside in the cold. Gross.
Now, starting or signing a petition is easy. Websites like change.org and causes.com have made it foolproof. Maybe a little too foolproof. It takes me mere minutes over the lunch hour to sign several petitions. I don’t have to listen to anyone’s spiel. I don’t even have to read what I’m signing. Click once to sign, click again to share on Facebook. Even my name auto-fills, as does the letter I “wrote” to the legislator or CEO in question.
