My main qualifications on this subject may be that I am a citizen of the United States and a humbled realization that I don’t go beyond my civic duty to better my community. Recently, I realized I had not voted for any mayor of any city I have ever lived in. I assumed that my short term stints were non-consequential. What I have come to realize is that I had created a bad habit of not making my voice heard.
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On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Americans don’t need more fireworks, rather they need to attend more city council meetings.
At its basic level, civic duty has some legality to it. By law, American citizens must uphold the law, pay taxes, serve on a jury and men must sign up for selective service at 18 until age 26. By this standard, I had accomplished my civic duty (well I have not been called up to jury duty yet). Civic duty can only go so far through the power of law.
Today, American citizens stand up against some shocking facts. In surveys run by AmeriCorps from 2017-2023, 9.7% of Americans attended public meetings and on top of that 9.9% of Americans have contacted their public officials to speak on issues important to them.
These facts point to a growing problem. Americans don’t participate in civic engagement either at local, state or national level. The policies that affect us closer to home don’t have our input. It’s not for the fact that Americans are uninterested. 69.1% of Americans talk with their friends on current issues. When compared to discussing with neighbors, it is 30%. We may be talking with our neighbors less about issues, but this is marginally higher than those who attend the public meetings addressing issues in real time. Beyond discussing issues, 83.9% of Americans feel they take time to learn about issues. Learning about current issues and taking action has a real gap.
Americans are moving to social media as their news and political information center. Pew research say about 1 in 5 Americans get their updates from political based influencers. This can be good to find people who share common ground. However, according to a Journal of Public Economics study, algorithms adjust to your interest and can lead to a loop and reinforcement of existing ideas, increasing polarization. As polarization increases, we find a struggle of trust in our established institutions. In their recent publication, the Kettering Foundation saw 46% of Americans find congress to be performing poorly and nearly half think the executive branch isn’t meeting expectations.
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The founders’ vision was an engaged republic and it relies on everyday citizens to uphold that vision 250 years later and beyond.
Trust won’t increase through continual political videos. It can be developed through civic engagement. After discovering the current state of participation in the U.S. (quite frankly, my astonishing lack of civic action), I researched and found how easy it is to get involved and I found by taking an active participation in my civic duty, it will make a difference. Some ideas I discovered are simple to do.
I found it easy to locate my city or town hall and attend a meeting where a policy I am interested in is being discussed. After discovering this, I remained committed to voting at elections that will directly impact me (no matter if it is a temporary location) and hope to share my experience with those close to me.
I recently attended Oremfest since I call Orem my home. I was amazed with the people who showed up and put on an event of that size for the community. This event was for fun, but I engaged with booths where I learned so much about local causes, issues and businesses. I walked away knowing how I can be a better citizen. This offered more than social media has ever offered to me. I hope we all can commit to being more civically engaged on the 250th anniversary of the U.S. and make sure it doesn’t stop once the anniversary is passed. The founders’ vision was an engaged republic and it relies on everyday citizens to uphold that vision 250 years later and beyond.
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