During a time of national stress and tense debates, the importance of the citizens voice has never held more importance. 

With every passing day, the number of people sitting in the middle of the political spectrum dwindles, and the amount of people willing to compromise narrows. When civil discord grows, the necessity for unemotional discussions and direct lines of communication with government officials skyrockets. 

“Colorado – continue making your voice heard,” Sen. John Hickenlooper said. “We’re grateful to all of you who wrote and called our office on how these chaotic actions are affecting you. Let’s get so loud they can’t drown us out.”

“Putting pressure on our elected officials is not the only thing that needs to happen right now, but it’s one extremely important thing that needs to happen,” Mountain Action Indivisible volunteer Debbie Bruell said. “It’s something that all of us can do every day.”

But it’s not just Democrats who are encouraging residents to connect with their Congressional representation — Garfield County Republicans urged their supporters to do the same thing. 

“We need to let the representatives know how you feel, and hold them to being responsive to the constituents,” the secretary of Garfield County Republicans Stefani Davis said.

Representatives from all sides of the political spectrum have been calling on citizens to let them hear what’s on their mind. Whether it’s email, phone call, strongly worded letter, or physically voicing your concerns, everyone is interested in what you have to say. From Rep. Jeff Hurd (info@jeffhurdforcolorado.com, (970) 208-0455), R-Grand Junction, to Sens. Michael Bennet (202-224-5852) D-Colo., and John Hickenlooper (202-224-5941), D-Colo., they want to hear what you have to say, and they want to fight for your rights. To email your senators, visit their websites.

On Thursday, Feb. 6, Mountain Action Indivisible held a meeting with a member of senator John Hickenlooper’s staff outside of Dos Gringos in Carbondale. Nearly 100 people showed up to voice their disapproval of the new administration on the grass outside the Mexican restaurant. 

On Thursday, Bruell and others met with a field representative from Sen. John Hickenlooper’s office to do just that — concerns ranged from I.C.E. raids to Elon Musk’s unconventional appointment to high office. 

Mountain Action Indivisible is a local non-profit dedicated to educating and motivating the political community from Aspen to Parachute. They have been following the strategy laid out by the national non-profit indivisible.org, which has recently shifted from calling your officials to setting up meetings with their staff. 

“We’ve been following the strategic guidance of the national Indivisible group,” Bruell said. “They started urging people to not only call their representatives, but to set up meetings with their staff. We called Sen. Hickenlooper’s Glenwood Springs office and on Wednesday afternoon we were able to confirm a meeting with his staff member from that office, Janice Stancle, the next day.”

On less than 24 hours notice, people from Rifle all the way to Aspen showed up midday on Thursday, and the large crowd created a tense atmosphere as the exercise of free speech ramped up. The Hickenlooper staffer fielded tough questions from the crowd and managed to tightrope walk over the minefield of explosive ideas thrown out by the passionate citizens. 

“I’ve always tried to find ways to work across the aisle, and that won’t ever change,” Hickenlooper said. “To defend Colorado and our Constitution, we have to take a stand against the assault on our checks and balances.”

The idea of working across the aisle and trying to find common good between two parties with nothing to agree on is becoming rarer by the day. But optimistically, Hickenlooper’s staff and the Garfield County Republicans are on the same page — people need to come together more often. 

“I hope that coming together is still popular, or becomes popular again,” Davis said. “When people fall into their silo mindset, that’s when you can’t see each other’s viewpoints and important decisions that affect all of us begin to stall.”