A Few Simple Ways To Be Civically Engaged

Someone a few days ago asked the question, "How do you define this Civic Engagement idea?" A very good question. The American Political Science Association recently defined civic engagement as something which,

"includes any activity, individual or collective, devoted to influencing the collective life of the polity,"

I see it as the purposefully engagement in activity which intended for the betterment of a community. Some examples of such activity might be things like: running for political office, participating in a phone bank for a candidate or writing letters of complaint to your state representative/senator. These are fine examples of civic engagement, but it could even be something more basic. Here are a few simple ways to get civically engaged:

1. VOTE - Probably the easiest thing a person can do to be civically involved. Many people around the world either don't have the right or have had to overthrow their previous government to get the right to do something most in this country take for granted. Employers are required to give their employees time off during the day to vote in an election, a little known fact.

2. KNOW YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS - Most everyone knows the name of the President, but most people can name the characters on their favorite TV show before they can name their city councilman or mayor, state representative, etc. Unfortunately, what you don't know in this case can hurt you. Your local and state elected officials make decisions everyday that affect your life and if they don't hear from you, you can bet that they're hearing from someone else or some other group, but what you can't bet on is whether or not those groups or people being heard care about the same things you do. Don't leave your life in someone else's hands. You can find out who your representatives are by visiting your local town hall, city/county or by visiting a site on-line like Project Vote Smart.

3. GO TO A SCHOOL BOARD/CITY COUNCIL MEETING - While these meetings might not always be the most exciting events in the world, they are a great way to find out what issues are affecting your community and/or meet others in your town who might have similar passions as yourself. At the very least, if you go to a city council or school board meeting you might meet your representative in person and bend their ear about an issue you have. Meetings can be great way to have the kind of informal one-on-one meeting with elected officials that are hard to come by even with an appointment.

These are just a few simple ways to become civically engaged, but there are plenty of other ways to do so. The important thing is not HOW you become civically engaged, but that you DO become civically engaged. The first step is always the hardest, but make it a simple one and you'll be off and running (for office) in no time.