Get Involved
The ballots are cast, the votes are counted, the signs are coming down. Another campaign cycle has come and gone, and next year’s decisions are a year away. But civic involvement doesn’t have to end when the polls close. Opportunities to participate in civic life are present throughout the year, not just on Election Day.
It’s easy for the childfree to feel excluded from the political process. In appealing to the broadest audiences, national campaigns speak of “working families,” and local campaigns often turn on schools. Campaign rhetoric is clearly not directed toward the childfree, though we are a distinct and growing minority. That, however, is all the more reason to be involved.
Writing to your Congressional representatives is perhaps one of the best known ways to be involved in the political process. With web-based email services, it has become even easier to exercise your right to be heard. In addition, signing up for your representative’s email updates will keep you informed of events where you can share your concerns in person. A town hall meeting is a wonderful opportunity not only to meet your representative but also to meet his or her staff, who can answer your questions and know how to navigate the Washington bureaucracy.
State legislators represent fewer constituents than Congressional representatives and, as a result, may be more accessible. Their actions, however, often have a more visible effect in the lives of their constituents than do the actions of their counterparts in Washington. At a minimum, the issues they consider are no less important than issues at the national level, yet, they frequently represent people who don’t even know their names. Keeping in touch with your state legislators is an equally important part of civic involvement.
Many Americans are unaware of the tremendous impact of local government on our day-to-day lives. County and municipal governments make decisions about land use, schools, and commerce that impact each of us on a daily basis. A board of supervisors may approve a new subdivision, a school board may vote to use tax dollars to renovate a high school, and a town council may adopt new requirements for food safety in local restaurants.
I became active in local government several years ago out of sheer frustration. The county where I was living raised real estate taxes to the point where I could scarcely afford to keep my home. Frightened that I would be forced out of my house, I put aside my aversion to public speaking and attended the county budget hearing. In front of a rather hostile audience of hundreds of citizens and special interests, I made my statement. When I was finished, the chairman of the board more or less told me to take a hike, but I had the satisfaction of knowing that I did all I could—and more than most—to make my voice heard.
Shortly thereafter, I relocated, in part because of the tax burden, and almost immediately became active in local government in my new home. There are countless ways I would rather spend my evening than attending planning commission, town council, or county board of supervisors meetings, but when the issues hit close to home, as many local issues do, attendance and participation is the best way to ensure my voice is heard.
Budget hearings are an especially important part of the political process. Much of a local budget is dedicated to schools, and budget hearing attendance often reflects that. PTAs and child-oriented organizations frequently send representatives to budget hearings to argue for more money for schools. Whether or not you as a childfree citizen believe you should be paying for schools, the fact is that we are paying a lot of tax dollars for services we will never use. For that reason, I want to ensure that the school system spends my money as efficiently and effectively as possible. The childfree have as much right to be involved in debates concerning schools as do the childed, yet we frequently shy away from these discussions.
The language of public involvement is equally important for the childfree. Politicians who campaign on “family” issues are apt to continue the rhetoric into their terms as office holders. I have attended public hearings on all sorts of issues, and time and again, officials and citizen speakers keep coming back to the impact on “families.” Although I have yet to stand up and ask if they really mean to exclude me, I always use inclusive, not exclusive, language when it comes to identifying affected constituencies. I like the terms “household” and “resident” because they don’t connote marriage or children and, therefore, don’t seem to exclude the unmarried or the childfree. Changing the language of public involvement is difficult, but every speaker who includes the childfree moves public discourse toward being more accepting of our lives and choices.
Another advantage to attending public hearings is that it gets you noticed by your local officials. They may not always like what you have to say, but they will know you are informed and concerned about your community. My involvement resulted in my appointment to a county citizen committee where I bring one of many perspectives to an issue of importance in the region.
Voting, although no doubt important, is only one aspect of civic involvement. Writing letters, attending hearings, and serving on committees are all ways to stay active long after the polls have closed. Of course, your elected officials may vote against your opinions. Mine have let me down on countless occasions. But I can go to bed knowing that at least I voiced my opinion. And I can vote against them on election day.
Copyright Julie Nisley. Published 1 December 2008 in Editorials.
Reader comments
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Thanks for writing this. I’m always telling people they have to get out and get involved in their communities and local political action groups. Too many people of the younger generations just want to go home and play WoW 22 hours a day and don’t even want to make any real-life friends but then they whine they feel so alone and not apart of society. You have to make yourself part of society! If you don’t like it, you have to try to change it. You can’t just whine about things and hope they change.
So thanks for reminding people they need to do more than leave their house once every 4 years to vote!
permalink — 14 December 2008, 07:11