Robert A. Heinlein: Why should the average decent citizen bother with politics?

Phoenix Pick is proud to announce the reprinting of Take Back Your Government by Robert A. Heinlein. Written in 1946, just after World War II, the work was originally titled How to Be a Politician, and was published by Baen ... in 1992. It was out of print for several years but is now available in trade paperback format and also in Kindle and Nook formats.

The book has a new introduction by William H. Patterson, Jr., author of Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century: Volume 1 (1907-1948): Learning Curve.

Patterson writes in the introduction, "[Heinlein] starts with practical advice about how to get started and covers the landscape of local political activities—all the pitfalls (and rewards!) of cultivating the passions and dedication of an all-volunteer local organization and growing it to a state of political influence."

Heinlein notes in the preface:

"The individual, unpaid and inexperienced volunteer citizen in politics, who is short on both time and money, can take this country away from the machine politicians and run it to suit himself—if he knows how to go about it.

"This book is a discussion of how to go about it, with no reference to particular political issues. I have my own set of political opinions and some of them are almost bitter in their intensity, but, still more strongly, I have an abiding faith in the good sense and decency of the American people. Many are urging you daily as to what you should do politically; I hope only to show some of the details of how you can do it—the mechanics of the art."

As to his "credentials" for writing the book, Heinlein notes that

"I have been a precinct worker, punching doorbells for my ticket. I have organized political clubs, managed campaigns, run for office, been a county committeeman, a state committeeman, attended conventions including national conventions, been a county organizer, published political newspapers, made speeches, posted signs, raised campaign funds, licked stamps, dispensed patronage, run headquarters, cluttered up 'smoke-filled rooms,' and have had my telephone tapped.

"I suppose that makes me a politician. I do know that it has proved to me that a single citizen, possessed of the right to speak and the right to vote, can make himself felt whenever he takes the trouble to exercise those twin rights."

Take Back Your Government lays out some hard truths about the role the average citizen needs to play in politics if government is to be of any use to "ordinary" people. There are no easy answers. It's hard work, but Heinlein emphasizes why it's worthwhile.

In these days of this "movement" and that "party," Heinlein delves into the pros and cons, the good and bad, of practical politics. He doesn't mince words and doesn't let anyone off the hook—for him, government problems are everyone's responsibility and everyone needs to be part of the solutions. The alternative is to stop complaining and accept what non-involvement brings. Ignorance + apathy = a disaster that can build to almost unconquerable proportions.

Since the work was originally written decades ago, it contains some things that are outdated. Phonebooks have become web searches, postcards have been replaced by e-mail. But the basic requirement is still the same as when Heinlein penned the words. The message is that getting what you want from government requires your involvement. From knowing what you want, to finding others who want what you want, to telling those in power what you want, to becoming one with the power to work toward what you want, to working with others in power to achieve what you want ... If you really want your government to work, Heinlein asserts, then you have to be willing to do a good bit of work yourself, and in this book he provides practical advice on how to do that.

Heinlein writes:

"This is intended to be a practical manual of instruction for the American layman who has taken no regular part in politics, has no personal political ambitions, and no desire to make money out of politics, but who, nevertheless, would like to do something to make his chosen form of government work better. If you have a gnawing, uneasy feeling that you should be doing something to preserve our freedoms and to protect and improve our way of life but have been held back by lack of time, lack of money, or the helpless feeling that you individually could not do enough to make the effort worthwhile, then this book was written for you."