Roll up your pant legs, it's about to get deep.

By J. Basil Dannebohm

I recently stumbled upon a humorous, albeit sad illustration of a Dr. Suess style book. The title read: "Oh, the BS you'll hear when elections draw near!"

Dr. Seuss was an advocate for environmentalism, equality, and anti-fascism. Today, a certain regime would label him a "domestic terrorist."

His moralist perspective, which is to say that he was radicalized by basic human decency, was prevalent in many of the children's books he penned, and in over 400 World War II political cartoons he illustrated.

As for the BS you'll hear when elections draw near? Though the book itself isn't a real Dr. Suess title, the sentiment no less holds true.

Roll up your pant legs. It's going to get deep in the week's ahead.

Regardless of the BS being peddled by politicians, and the acceptance or pushback it receives from constituents, the fact remains: Voters won’t change a narcissistic showman. A zebra cannot shed its stripes, a snake only sheds its skin to become a bigger snake, and a gas bag is no more than a hollow vessel of hot air.

Thus, generally speaking, calling or emailing your elected representatives -- especially those who walk the halls of Congress -- doesn’t amount to much of anything.

Unless you've got an impressive title that makes them nervous, or a large donation that entices them, they won't listen.

They might hear, but they won't listen.

They'll pay you lip service, but you'll be forgotten and your concerns will be written off within minutes as they head to their next meeting with a lobbyist or corporate executive.

As someone keenly noted on social media:

"Don't write letters to politicians. Don't call your representatives. Don't sign petitions. Don't request resignations. Do actual things that can't simply be ignored. All that other stuff was invented by those in power to neutralize your anger."

Speaking of anger, protesting is all well and good, but it doesn't shake or startle elected officials even a little -- take it from me, a former legislator who turned a blind eye to plenty of protests.

THE BEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IS AT THE BALLOT BOX.

We need constituents to start holding those who hold public office accountable.

That begins not by taking them at their word, but rather, evaluating their actions and their votes. It continues when the time comes for a constituent to cast their vote in an election. Far too often, voters take the lazy, safe approach by simply marking the box next to the name that reads "incumbent" without doing any homework.

That level of irresponsibility is intellectually absurd, and yet, commonplace.

If you want to know where a candidate REALLY stands, don’t listen to their BS or follow the advice of some guidebook; and certainly don't vote for someone simply because they're the incumbent. Rather, look at their voting record and/or FEC filings, both of which are public record. When you review those FEC filings, research the names, professions, and affiliations of the donors. Ask yourself: Do these individuals align with my values and politics? If not, odds are, no matter what lip service they pay, the candidate won't, either.

We're in this present mess because too damn many people are too damn lazy when it comes to the democratic process. In the words of the Lorax, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."