How to Be a Good Neighborhood Ambassador
Who is my neighbor?
We have learned that everyone is our neighbor, even strangers we don't know or trust. We even envision the far-away foreigner as a "neighbor" to "coexist" with. But how well do we know the ones that live on our on our street? Some insist they're neighbors with everybody, and end up being neighbors with — nobody.If you have 500 friends on Facebook, most of whom you've never met, and can't name your 8 closest neighbors, you are not alone — 90% of our population can't do it. There are a lot of reasons for this, and I'm sure you can name several, but it boils down to the fact that we get too busy to notice that people around us need a good neighbor. And maybe we could use one, too.
Being Mindful
Being a good neighbor takes a little mindfulness, and some time and effort. How long has it been since you gave more thought to your neighbors than a cursory look in their yard?Some neighbors are obvious about who they are. Others are harder to get to know.
Some are simply invisible — the ones you've never met, but you know they exist, because you've glimpsed signs of life around their house. You know they have children, because the van that comes and goes from the garage has a stick-figure decal on the back window.
People have lots of ways to hide these days, whether or not they intend to. So neighboring must become a mindful activity, and sometimes we need a good reason to make the effort.
Simply one look inside our schools gives us a reason to need to be better acquainted so that we can talk about important things, but talking about important things assumes a standing relationship, and that relationship has to be built over time.
Getting to Know Your Neighbors
To help you get started, here are some activities for you. These assume that you have signed up for an account and have claimed some households on this website. Once you identify a few Republicans you'd like to get to know:
Level 1: Learn the names they prefer to go by, and use those names when you talk to them.
Level 2: Learn a fact about them that isn't visible (such as their favorite color or music style).
Level 3: Learn what that is important to them.
Yup, that's right. You're gonna have to talk with them. And you'll have to build trust with them.
The degree to which you become a good neighbor to those nearest you is the degree to which you will benefit, your neighbors will benefit, and society will benefit.
This is a long, slow process. We recommend starting with Republicans.
Ultimately, you'll want to get to know everyone, but the Republicans are a good subset for you to begin with, as you have something in common with them already.
You can help us do things that are hard and expensive for us, but so easy for you, when you know your neighbors well. The information on our system can help you:
Getting to Know Your Neighbors
To help you get started, here are some activities for you. These assume that you have signed up for an account and have claimed some households on this website. Once you identify a few Republicans you'd like to get to know:Level 1: Learn the names they prefer to go by, and use those names when you talk to them.
Level 2: Learn a fact about them that isn't visible (such as their favorite color or music style).
Level 3: Learn what that is important to them.
Yup, that's right. You're gonna have to talk with them. And you'll have to build trust with them.
The degree to which you become a good neighbor to those nearest you is the degree to which you will benefit, your neighbors will benefit, and society will benefit.
This is a long, slow process. We recommend starting with Republicans.
Ultimately, you'll want to get to know everyone, but the Republicans are a good subset for you to begin with, as you have something in common with them already.
A Warning
Start with a genuine interest in getting acquainted. Even mentioning politics could turn off the flow of good feelings in these first stages. We hope this exercise will help you build lasting relationships.What's in it for the LCRP?
If you are serious about being a good neighborhood ambassador, we can help you by connecting you with your Precinct Committee Person, who can assign you to some homes in your neighborhood, and give you access to some information on who these people are. Our expectation is that you will help us get out the Republican vote. We also know that people who are good neighbors can do this better than anyone.You can help us do things that are hard and expensive for us, but so easy for you, when you know your neighbors well. The information on our system can help you:
- identify voter fraud (when you see someone has voted that you know doesn't live there)
- identify people who need to register to vote (when someone living on your block isn't on the list)
- identify unaffiliated voters who are right-leaning (we can tell you who's unaffiliated — you figure out which ones are right-leaning)
- invite Republicans to caucus (you'll know who they are from the list)
- encourage Republicans and right-leaners to vote (and we'll tell you who has voted)
