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.

The Power of People

Thousands of miles and several time zones away there are people who are showing the U.S. the meaning of civic engagement. As the lone "superpower" our nation prides itself on being an example of progress and freedom the world over. However, this nation's greatest moments, World War II, The American Revolution, The Civil Rights Movement, The New Deal, Women's Suffrage, etc, have come in times of struggle and conflict.

When you're on top (though there are a number of ways in which nations are measured where the U.S. ranks near the bottom) it's hard to hold yourself accountable because you have equal force to keep you honest. The U.S. has had the good fortune to hold onto to its status as the most wealthy nation in the world since the fall of the Soviet Union in the last century.

In Iran, right now as I write, there are people who may not know very much about Democracy and it's origins in Greek and Roman history. Still, these people are enacting the very principles which exist at Democracy's core. They not only speak out for what they believe in, but they are openly defying a government and cleric state that seeks to silence dissenting opinion about the most recent Presidential Election, proclaiming that these people should be treated as "terrorists".

[On a note of irony: I'm pretty sure Iran officials resented being lumped up with "terrorists" and the "axis of evil" when President George W. Bush needed someone to blame for the activities of 9/11, but now that the word works for there purposes, the same people feel justified in using the same language.]

Here in the great U.S. of A, it takes impeachable acts, gross misconduct and years of war that continues to be costly and unjustifiable for people to get involved on a national level. In 2000, we had our own version of the kind of electoral mishandling that is currently being protested in Iran. Sure, there were a few protests and court hearing, but after the Supreme Court ruled on the affair, the more than 50% of the country that were up in arms simply packed up their complaints and retreated into a whole of bitterness and resentment.

THE RESULT: An administration that may prove in time to be the most manipulative, power hungry, unscrupulous and ambitiously incompetent in our nation's history.

The protests of the last 30 -45 days in Iran could be seen in some eyes as all smoke and no fire,. because the results of the election weren't re-examined or officially disputed. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is still President and his opponent Mir Hussein Moussavi remains on the outside looking in. However, there appears to be some light at the end of this tunnel as Moussavi is seeking a legal political structure to continue the fight for a more progressive voice in Iran.

Only time will tell whether or not the efforts of Moussavi and other progressives in Iran will bear fruit any time soon, but hopefully it will serve as proof to future generations that a person can still love his or her country and while voicing opposition to power. If only we could