Can Civic Engagement Rebuild America

By

Katherine Goldstein

I know I'm not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the political news during this intense election year. I've been personally walking a tightrope of avoiding the news deluge while also trying to stay engaged on issues that are important to me. One thing that has lifted my spirits lately is talking to Emily Amick, also known by her social media accounts, Emily in Your Phone where she gives summaries of important news stories. She's the co-author of the wonderful new book, Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in our Lives. An easy and accessible read, Amick and her co-author Sami Sage help people identify their "civic personality" to figure out the best ways for readers to get involved with one's community. They make a case that action is the antidote to despair, and they tell lots of inspiring stories about how people have built up their civic engagement in ways that are not just about federal politics.

I so enjoyed my conversation with Emily Amick. Here's an edited and condensed version of our talk.

Katherine Goldstein: This has been a really dramatic election season, between an attempted assassination and the 11th-hour drop out of President Biden. There have been times in the last month that I've felt more hopeless and helpless about politics than I have since 2016. So what do you say to people like me who may be overwhelmed by politics and concerned about the direction of the country?

Emily Amick: My question is, 'what is the other option?' Giving up? There's so much to fight for, and there are so many problems right now. We have minority rule. We have a Supreme Court that is stacked with people who are moving us towards fascism and authoritarianism.

There are bad things going on. We have to figure out how to fix it. And the only way to fix it is for people to get engaged and do the work. Change is very much possible, but we have to make it change. That's a little bit tough love, but to me that's also very hopeful, because [the reality is] bad things happen in politics with a certain regularity every couple years. Right now, we have the firestorm of social media that not only amplifies all of the negativity, but drives people to the sense of nihilism, to a sense of futility, towards a hatred of government, and where people feel there's no point, nothing can be fixed, nothing will ever change. And I think that is the distinction that is driving the incredible sense of hopelessness people are feeling. And things are bad, but we shouldn't be hopeless. Because things can change and we can very much right the ship.

So when people hear "civic engagement," sometimes their eyes glaze over. So give me the elevator pitch for why civic engagement is sexy and awesome.

Civic engagement is really all of the things that make living in community work and make it fun. There are zoning board meetings and it's also book clubs. It is giving your neighbor a cup of flour. It is volunteering at your kid's school. It is going to a lobby day on an issue you really care about. It's going to a Lion's Club or another civic group. It's going to religious activities. It's all of these things that are the threads that create the fabric of our community.

We have a loneliness epidemic in this country. It is very real. The Surgeon General has said it exists. I think a lot of people feel it. And we proffer that the solution is civic engagement is a way to meet people and spend time with people who share your values, to work on something together and to rebuild this public life that has been so lost over the last 40 years.

The book explains that civic engagement isn't just being involved with politics. There are many fun and joyful ways to increase our connection with others, and this increases our overall happiness. Would you share some of your favorite examples from the book about civic participation being nourishing and joyful?

In the book, we profile this woman who's a quilter. There's a pretty solid group of people who are civic quilters. And she talks about how at the beginning of the pandemic, she was having a really hard time. And so she wanted a hobby to fill her life. And she got into quilting and she's doing a quilt about gun violence and to bring attention to the issue of gun violence in America.

But through creating this quilt, she's built this big community of other civic quilters who she's met online and they're organizing. And also by going to her local quilting store and doing quilts they go and quilt together in-person. And she's been able to get really involved in this art, develop this new hobby, and meet all these different people.

I love that this story combines an artistic hobby, bringing people together, and a social cause that matters to her.

Since 2016, engagement, especially around politics can often feel more like firefighting and trying to stop something bad from happening rather than 'let's work towards something good happening.'

How do we pick our battles, especially around playing defense versus playing offense?

A big pitch we make in the book is for people to get involved locally. And one of the reasons for that is because at the local level, you are able to see and feel and hear the direct results of your actions. In a way you will never get for these like massive intransigent national issues. Part of this is that we have all gotten very obsessed with these large, national issues, and that is just a portion of the political process. We need more people working locally and at the state level, and that will change the systems that will change the legislatures and fundamentally transform the entire infrastructure that supports the national situation.

So parents of young children, caregivers, those who are working like three jobs and struggling to make ends meet are often some of the people who would benefit most from the changes that come from civic engagement, but they also have the least time to get involved.

What would you say to those people who feel like they just don't have time to take on anything else?

One of the big arguments we try to make here is that you aren't obligated to give a certain amount of time. Do what you can and what is authentic to you. And if you have a bunch of kids and/or three jobs, how much time could you possibly have? That is why we need other people who do have time and have empathy for the issues that you face to get involved and be part of that community and help you. If you have three kids or are working three jobs, maybe going to church on Sunday fills your cup, and that is a civic activity. Maybe you also volunteer one hour a month at the food pantry that you also go to. There are things that people can do and that helps you build connections and community with other people who share your same life situation. I think that there's lots of things that people can do but we should never expect people to do more than they can.

People feel pressure that they don't have time to do "enough." My political philosophy is that a rising tide lifts all boats. It requires thousands and thousands of raindrops to do that.

So we can do civic engagement solo, like text banking at home on your own time. I personally think it's much more fun and sustainable to do it in a group and find a community around it.

Tell me about what you call 'civic pods' and how to find your people who are interested in some of the same issues you are.

Oh my god, thank you for noticing. I love the 'civic pod' phrase. Number one, if there is a meeting you want to go to, a zoning meeting because there's going to be a development on your street, a lobby day for gun violence at your state capitol, whatever it is, drag one of your friends along with you. It will make it more fun. Another idea, which is self serving, but also actually a real thing, we suggest that people have a book club about Democracy in Retrograde. But then you ask everyone to invite a friend or a stranger to the group as a way to meet people. I have tons of friends who I've made through this work and it happens really quickly and organically because you're there because you care about the same things.

I love that. And it's interesting. In my research on civic engagement, the number one reason people go to things it's just because somebody invited them.

And they have to be asked. And they often have to be asked three or four times. And you have to really make people feel wanted. That's the nut of it. And then they come in the way in our conclusion of this book, one of the things we say is, 'this is us asking YOU to join us in this fight.' We can build this civic life if we all just start asking.

You can buy Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in our Lives wherever you get your books. I'm hosting a virtual discussion for members of my newsletter, The Double Shift, on August 5th at 1pm EST. Details here.