Do you know who pays the police officers who protect your community? Or provides the money and plans to update critical infrastructure like public water and roads where you live? Or who funds the local school system?
In other words, do you pay attention to the government officials who affect your daily life?
The media likes to focus on Washington. The politicians up there are more interesting, or at least that’s what Twitter and the big newspapers would like us to believe. Yet reading stories and hearing sound bites of lawmakers calling each other names does little to convince us that the government works for our benefit.
In fact, some experts connect the rise in extremist groups and political violence to the helplessness many people feel about what is happening in our country. We hear so much about how locked up Congress is we think nothing we do, by voting or otherwise, will positively impact our lives. Some of us are growing frustrated and desperate. Hence, the uptick in violent rhetoric.
When we find ourselves getting upset about the latest national debate, we should remember what we have access to and influence upon: local government. Our local councils and boards have significant impact on our daily lives, but sadly, few of us choose to pay attention. According to a 2018 Johns Hopkins University study of 1500 people, many Americans lack basic civic knowledge. For example, 25% of people interviewed for the study didn’t know if federal or state government was in charge of law enforcement or which governmental bodies make and enforce zoning laws. Benjamin Ginsberg, a professor of politics at Johns Hopkins, said about the results of the study, “Lack of attention could lead not just to an uninformed public, but to an environment where special interest politics and corruption flourish.”
Lack of attention could lead not just to an uninformed public, but to an environment where special interest politics and corruption flourish.”
Benjamin Ginsberg, Professor of politics at Johns Hopkins University
If that’s not a call to action, I’m not sure what is.
Most of the time, local government focuses on helping people in a community live safe and healthy lives. But sometimes, there are bad players who act in self-serving ways. What is your local and state government doing to improve your life? What do you need to be concerned about? You won’t know unless you pay attention.
As Election Day approaches, I encourage you to pay attention to your local government. Use resources like your county or state election sites to find out who is running for what office. Do a little research on the candidates to try and determine who has the best qualities to represent and serve your area. To learn more about your locality’s ballot, visit Ballotpedia or your county website.
Outside of election seasons, we still need to pay attention to and support what our local governments are doing for our communities. How are they planning their budgets? Are they updating infrastructure? How are they supporting education?
Please note that “paying attention to and supporting” does not translate to complaining. It means staying informed about the issues and figuring out how we, as members of a community, can contribute to solutions. Let’s stop wasting our energy and time getting angry about overly simplified national trigger issues. Let’s work with local government to make our communities healthy, happy places to thrive.
How do you stay informed about what your local government is doing? Do you plan to vote on November 8? I hope so!
Thanks for getting civic minded with me!
