LAURA WASHINGTON: A hip way to dial up activism in age of Trump

MIAMI BEACH — Sick and tired of a certain president’s noxious Twitter feed? Need an antidote?

Step into a sunshine-yellow phone booth and ring your rep.

A phone booth might seem an arcane object in our hyper-digital age, but it could be a potent weapon to fight Donald J. Trumpism and take back democracy.

Head to the Standard Hotel in Miami Beach (any Chicago takers?), where I found a replica of a 1970’s telephone booth. It was installed last week, just in time for Art Basel, the international fair that lures 70,000 to bask in the sultry climate, ogle celebrities, hip-hop to the DJs, and, maybe even see some art.

The Standard Hotel is a “go-to hangout for Miami’s tourist and local hipster contingents,” says the Miami New Times.

So, what was I doing there? Being an intrepid reporter, of course.

The bright yellow, custom-made booth is a totem for the hotel chain’s “Ring Your Rep” campaign, which offers guests and visitors a “direct line to Congress.”

Nestled among lush, palmy greenery, it beckons guests as they frolic in the hotel’s indigo-blue pool and gaze over shimmering Biscayne Bay.

The booth doesn’t have a coin slot, but you don’t need the dime.

Put down your frosty mojito, step in and pick up the red phone. In a few moments, you’re in touch with Congress.

The Standard is mining the silver lining of the November 2016 presidential election. That political debacle has activated people, institutions and corporations to rise from their couches and get involved.

After the election, “we were trying to figure out how we could sort of be activists from the inside out,” Bryan Kepple, director of special projects for Standard International, told me.

The hotels want to encourage activities that “are directly affecting the people who work for us and the people that we serve as well,” Kepple said.

It will help people exercise democracy in turbulent political times. “Literally, all you do is walk in, you pick up the phone, it dials the switchboard. It will ask if you want your senator or congressman, you put in your zip code,” he explained, “and you are put in direct contact with the senator.”

I stepped into the booth, punched a few numbers. A voice answered, “Senator Dick Durbin’s office.”

No excuses. “We take out all the steps that can get in the way,” Kepple said. “All the excuses for you to not be an activist.”

The phones in the hotel’s rooms are equipped with a special button. Push it and get a direct line to Congress.

The Standard offers suggested talking points on hot political topics, but what callers say is up to them, Kepple emphasized.

In Miami Beach, Standard is collaborating with the ACLU to highlight immigration rights and support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act.

The project will help people “take a stand for civil rights and civil liberties,” said Danielle Silber, director of strategic partnerships for the national ACLU.

Americans may be angry at Washington, but many don’t even know who their congressman is.

“Calling your rep is one of the most effective ways of effecting change,” Silber said.

The phone booth and related activities are modeling ways to help people “think about what it means to be a citizen participant,” she added, and “bring it into their everyday lives.”

Email: lauraswashington@aol.com

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