“We have a deeply divided body politic. Half the people believe the system is broken. The other half believes it is fixed.” — Swami Beyondananda
Steve Bhaerman is a political scientist comedian who speaks through his character named, “Swami Beyondanda.” Swami summarizes what is shockingly True, and what we can joyously laugh about. He is right up my alley since his goal is “healthier political systems.” Laughter is good for us, and combined with puns and double entendres, it can awaken our memory that we (the people) have power if we will come together to take action. At least, we can shed light on questionable actions.
Unlike involvement in national politics, which is rarely a healthful endeavor, LOCAL AREA political advocacy of any sort is a calming and healing use of our time. Why? Because we all suffer from low-grade (if not high amounts of) stress about the sad and frightening state of American politics.
American politics, as a subject, had become taboo in most of the 21st century. The only good thing about the bad vs. worse presidential ticket in Nov. 2016 was that it got us back into talking politics.
On the other hand, talking about local politics remains almost impossible since so few people know very much about their local elected officials. More people know about their city councils than their county board of supervisors, I have found via informal polls of hundreds at a time over the last four years.
And even when people know the name of their district county supervisor, only about 20 % of THOSE people have ever seen their supervisor in person, and less than 10% have watched that supervisor at a Board of Supervisors meeting. That is more true in Santa Cruz than many other counties since the SCC BoS ensures little involvement by scheduling most meetings during business morning rush hours – no matter how many people keep asking for evening meetings.
I am happy to work LOCALLY to create more sensible government and to take notes about what is moving in localities across the nation, such as the https://represent.us/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5sn2gtyn5QIVdB-tBh1d3QRzEAAYASAAEgJ8E_D_BwE movement!
Seeing community involvement as a Self-Healing Lifestyle area is increasingly vital to our personal health in 2019. The Climate Crisis is forcing us to wise up and imagine what our world could look like, with rising ocean levels, in as few as 2-8 years(!) This is an overwhelming subconscious stress that explains one of the reasons half of all college students are seeking mental health services in the U.S. (http://www.mhac.org/everything-parents-should-know-about-college-mental-health-but-dont/)
Just as we need a safe and secure home to sleep in at night, we need to feel good about our neighborhood and home county. Instead, try asking 10 friends who their local county supervisor is. Only 10-25% can come up with any county supervisor name, and less than 5% have EVER attended a county supervisor meeting. Ask if they believe our county is doing well, and how much their expenses have been rising. Ask how long they believe they can continue to live here with the rising costs, and what they imagine could be done to improve their chances to stay.
NOT knowing what is going on in local government is understandably stressful when costs are rising – and we, who live here, are able to use our two feet, our two eyes, and our 3 heart-minds (head, heart, and gut) to evaluate what we see and who we meet.
Democracy is dependent on our participation, we know… and we have FAR MORE say in local government (than state or federal). Yet many of us talk ten times as much about national politics as we do local. Locals are starting our own efforts to simplify and put our home counties in better order… and nothing could be more satisfying!
As so many wise people have suggested:
1. Choose ONE issue you TRULY Care about
2. Formulate your questions, ideas, and/or desires about that topic
3. Attend one meeting
4. Write one letter (or at least make one phone call) and then tell others what you did to see if they feel inspired to join you