Republicans push taxation without representation but still want to collect taxes. That didn't work well for British royalty.
The British enriched themselves off American colonies without doing much to help the colonists or giving them a say in how their tax money was spent. That was until the colonies saw how the game was rigged against them and rebelled. Republicans use money from taxpayers to enrich their wealthy donors while suppressing tax payers from voting. Republicans are now blocking investments in public and social infrastructure that would help *all* Americans.
This map shows Republican voter suppression bills by state and the importance of pass the For The People Act so all Americans have a fair say in who represents them and how their taxes are spent. This blog also explains:
- Saul Alinsky's advice on messaging for activists
- How to create a StoryMap
- How to create lampoons with the free LunaPic app
- Creating parody videos with the free iMovie app
- Primer on Fair Use of video content
Republican taxation without representation
An issue can be deadly serious, but the message has to be designed to maximize its chances of reaching your audience and being understood. Keep your message short, simple and engaging. Create interactive stories combining text, images, maps and videos with the StoryMaps app. This StoryMap about Republican Taxation Without Representing has:
- Map of voter suppression laws by state courtesy The Brennan Center
- Short video clip from the trailer to the Mel Gibson movie 'The Patriot'
- A lampoon image of four Republican Senators adapted from 'Farewell, My Queen'
- Details on 'For The People Act' courtesy Common Cause
- Video intro on the 'American Revolutionary War'
All this information is packed into a digital story that can be scanned in seconds on a phone or laptop, or read in more detail.
Share this StoryMap freely with this link https://arcg.is/1CjzCW
Share as a GIF https://media.giphy.com/media/IyMWmztFEPBhgo0Fqg/source.gif
Embed this StoryMap in a website with this code < iframe src="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/436eee129d204a82a9b0633fb973868a?header" width="100%" height="500px" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="geolocation"></iframe>
Saul Alinsky on messaging
Saul Alinksy wrote 'Rules For Radicals". (Free PDF). Alinsky’s tactics were unusual, humorous, and provocative. "Alinsky wanted to see especially lower-income people who were getting pushed around to exercise some influence and even power over decisions that affected their lives.” wrote Sanford Horwitt, author of Let Them Call Me Rebel: Saul Alinsky, His Life and Legacy.
Here are some of the suggestions applied in this project:
- Never go outside the expertise of your people.
This StoryMap uses 'No taxation without representation', a basic American belief.
- Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
- Go after people and not institutions.
Open Culture
Creating a lampoon
This lampoon was created with the free LunaPic app. The faces of Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, Ron Johnson and Ted Cruz were first prepared on a transparent background and then overlaid on a background image from the movie Farewell, My Queen.
Primer on 'Fair Use' of video content
This is not legal advice. "This document is a code of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances.
Quoting in order to recombine elements to make a new work that depends for its meaning on (often unlikely) relationships between the elements
Video makers often create new works entirely out of existing ones, just as in the past artists have made collages and pastiches. Sometimes there is a critical purpose, sometimes a celebratory one, sometimes a humorous or other motive, in which new makers may easily see their uses as fair under category one. Sometimes, however, juxtaposition creates new meaning in other ways. This kind of activity is covered by fair use to the extent that the reuse of copyrighted works creates new meaning by juxtaposition. The recombinant new work has a cultural identity of its own and addresses an audience different from those for which its components were intended." - Center For Media & Social Impact (CMSI)
This project uses a few seconds from the trailer of the movie, The Patriot with attribution under Fair Use.
Creating a parody video
Parody videos are effective because they take something that the reader is probably already familiar with and puts it in a different context. The video quality is also much higher than what a grassroots groups can shoot itself. Parodies are entertaining. Notice in this 40 second video, the main argument about Republican royalty taxing without representation does not appear till about half way into the video. Remember to attribute the content you've used to the creators.
This 40 sec video was designed in about three hours using the free iMovie app. The steps are simple:
- Upload the graphics and videos you plan to use
- Lay out the video clips in the order they should play. Adjust their duration.
- Overlay the images at the right spots. Notice the picture of King George III appears at the 5 second mark.
- Add overly titles and captions at the right time for your chosen duration.
- Review your video and publish it.
- This creates an MP4 video that you can upload to YouTube or add to your website.
That's all there is to it! Watch the video.
