Why a Grange Fly-In

Members from around the country will fly or drive to Washington, D. C. to participate in the National Grange Fly-In that begins this Sunday. They will visit our National Grange headquarters, have a lot of information shared with them by several guest speakers, and take time to meet with their Representatives and Senators in Congress.

Why would people take the time and expense to come to our nation’s capital? It is very simple - contrary to popular myth, it only takes a few people to influence the political process for good. One person can make a difference and one of the lessons of our Fly-In is that you begin by understanding the legislative process.

The Grange understands that the true strength of our legislative program isn’t vested in our lobbyist or Legislative Director. The legacy of lobbying that John Trimble and then Thomas Clark Akeson set for the National Grange continues today with Burton Eller. That legacy is to educate and empower the individual and to promote the policies adopted by Grange members across the country.

The true strength of the Grange legislative program is in the involvement of our members. Letters, phone calls, and email to our local, state, and federal elected officials help build relationships between Grange members and our representatives. Those relationships grow into trust and that leads to some measure of influence.

The goals that I have for this year’s Fly-In are simple: I hope that each member will experience the excitement of seeing that their opinions and votes count. The American process is about people, not money or mass numbers. I believe that the process of influencing others is done one person at a time.  

If every participant learns something new then the educational portion of the Grange is reinforced. If they take that new-found knowledge home and share it with the members of their own Grange, then that will be a great reward for their efforts. 

Lastly, I hope that each member takes the time to remember that while our nation is not perfect, it is exceptional. The rough and tumble of politics may get ugly and nasty on occasion, but there are few nations on earth that let each citizen have so much impact on legislative affairs. The promise of our nation’s Declaration of Independence and the Constitution is one of liberty and responsibility. 

Those members who participate in the National Grange Fly-In truly are demonstrating the responsibility of citizenship in the United States of America.