Civic Diary

Civic Diary 4/29/2016

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

Hey all! So what’s the latest on my civic diary – my efforts to be more of a citizen?

Not much happened since last week as I got insanely busy. There’s a good lesson here in that you cannot do everything all the time. Sometimes you have to take care of yourself.

I think this is a big reason some people don’t really “dive into” citizenship activities; it’s exhausting and hard to pace yourself.

A few insights:

  • I’m realizing a lot of people do not know how to discuss politics – they know how to argue and fight, but not actually talk. I clearly need to get better at the discussion part.
  • Still convinced I need to get more involved in political organizations or organizing, which is hard as I have to pick something. For now I’m staying aware I should be more involved, and looking for opportunities to do so. I like observing this publicly as it makes me more self-conscious – so I do it.
  • The above has made me realize that, though I may understand many things of the world, my understanding of the political establishment (in the broad sense of everyone engaged in organized politics) is really quite poor. My work with Civic Geek helped me see how many organizations there are doing good in the world, and in turn I now see how much of our world, our society, are these interlinked structures. Being outside them disempowers you.
  • I think the disempowerment people feel is often real – but the solution is being empowered and empowering others. Getting aware and involved. A lot of political rage we see is just people finding new ways to be enslaved by jumping on fads.
  • Haven’t found anything new to write my representatives on. I am never sure how much of an effect it has, but I figure enough pebbles forms an avalanche.
  • Finally, I look at my other social involvements – clubs, speaking, museums, and worry I’ll downplay those too much. THere’s probably a balance – or a continuum – of healthy, different kinds of civic involvement.  Maybe you can be too political.

– Steve

 

Civic Diary 4/24/2016

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

OK I got off a bit on posting on my Civic Diary by a few days.  Pretty crazy week.

So if you’re new to this, this is my experiment in being a better citizen.  I’m posting once a week.  My current major efforts are to be more aware via joining organizations and following them, writing my representatives, and in general contemplating and analyzing what to do next.

So what did I learn

  • First it’s easy to think our representatives do the right thing, but sometimes they do stupid ones.  To wit, Feinstein, one of my reps backed a pretty badly thought out security bill in Congress.  So I wrote her specifically on that.  Gotta take the good with the bad – and I’m glad my continued awareness led me to figure this out.
  • Secondly, as I follow politics the truth of the matter is that to affect politics you have to be in an organization or be involved in one.  That’s it, end of story..  When you watch the protests organized by Democracy Now, or realize how people are involved in awareness and get-out-the-vote efforts, you realize people who get stuff done make the difference.  Yes, these people may be “the establishment,” but you’re not going to change that establishment until you get involved and make a counterpart or become part of it and change it.  Anyway, I think I need to ask more on how I can do my part organizing or being part of an organization – and Martin Longman puts it best, so just read this column.
  • Third, that question of “what more can or should I do” makes me realize the limits so much of us have – time.  There’s a lot of different tensions in our lives, which is a pain, but at least we can be aware of them and find a resolution.  Maybe you want to be an engaged citizen but can only do so much as you’re damn busy – at least you know it, admit it, do what you can, and maybe change what you do when life is less crazy.
  • Fourth, political activity is not a substitute for social activity.  Community work, your friends, family, city, clubs are also important.  I think there’s a kind of continuity we need to find between all levels of our lives to be good citizens . . . and it’s different for each of us.
  • Fifth, the more I pay attention to news the more I realize how much B.S. is out there.  The news is a product and it’s meant to get your attention.  Be selective in your news consumption, and look for real information.
  • First and foremost it’s about Citizenship as Nancy LeTourneau puts it.  Read that column too.
  • A lot of these realizations are pretty humbling.  Asking how to be a good citizen kinda makes you realize where you fail or are ignorant, and suddenly you don’t get so arrogant about your fellow citizens activities.

That’s it for me.  Have you started your Civic Diary yet?

– Steve

 

Civic Diary 4/15/2016

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)

 

My latest voyages into being more civicly engaged continue. So as noted my latest venture in being a civic geek were following important organizations, trying to write my congressbeings regularly, and looking for opportunities to be more engaged. I also had focused on the importance of any organizing to promote civic behavior.

SO what’s my findings this week?

  • First, writing to my reps – specifically over the Panama Papers calling attention to tax shelters around the world. Though the (incomplete) Panama Papers didn’t implicate many big US names, it still calls attention to tax dodges, and I figured it’d be good to prod them to do the same.
  • I should probably follow up on NC and Missisippi’s idiot Bathroom Bills as well. As there’s talk that NC may have suddenly made itself ineligible for federal funding, it might help to push that.  Note – I wasn’t aware federal funds could be withheld under conditions like that, so I learned something.
  • Following all these organizations makes you feel less alone politically. That’s a great benefit – but I can see where people get into cultlike devotion even to good causes.  Just realizing someone thinks like you do is something.
  • Once you start following organizations that keep you politically informed and find ways to be active, they often refer to other organizations and so on. Politically active organizations network and refer to each other, so you’ll find new and interesting was to stay informed and get active.
  • On the subject of being civicly active, it only took a few weeks for me to realize if I followed every lead I’d never have time for anything. I’ve had this happen before, so be warned – diving into being civicly engaged may be overwhelming. Pace yourself.
  • Since I started doing Civic Geek, and more and more as I do this, I realize a lot of the world survives on diverse, networked groups. From charities to political groups, official organizations to unofficial networking, there’s a huge amount of people keeping things going. It’s kind of hopeful, to be honest.
  • I’ve also come to realize how many people think just commenting on things is “activism,” as if leaving a sentence of feedback actually does anything. I think “protest” of any kind has become enshrined as something that’s always good as opposed to its potential to be wrong, annoying, or terribly misspelled.
  • A lot of people don’t appreciate the value of voting locally. So do it, damn it.
  • I’ve noticed my civic posts get some attention on Tumblr. Thinking Tumblr may be an untapped source of networked political engagement, like Twitter.

– Steve

– Steve