If I, with no innate political interests, can do it, then so can you.

Today I inched my minivan around our precinct, stopping to put together packets for my kids and pointing out which houses my free, voter canvassing app said to deliver them to.  NOBODY likes going door-to-door, especially the kids in the minivan, and especially when they recognize their friends’ houses.  But they did it, and at the end of our hour-long expedition I cheered for them, and told them they were saving America. 

I wasn’t raised to be political.  I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know the difference between my US and State Senator, nor how laws got passed. The only thing I had ever done politically was to vote.  But all that changed several years ago when some policies scared me into action.   Nevertheless, here I am, bringing my kids with me to attend functions, to speak for laws in committee meetings, and to write thank you letters to our representatives with a picture of our family inside. 

I share this because if I, with no innate political interests, can do it, then so can you. Civic engagement isn’t something we have an interest in, like a hobby, food or type of music. Civics is an action whose performance determines the health of our communities and nation, like food and sleep determine the health of our bodies.  Without the persistent engagement of an educated populace, our civilization disintegrates.

Some may imagine that teaching civics is accomplished in a high school class.  By law, schools must remain neutral.  Therefore, schools can merely teach the bones of government.  The more weighty and impactful application can only be taught in homes because civics in action relies upon the personal, values-heavy interpretation of good, better, best, and sometimes worst. It relies upon explicit instruction from families, like last summer where we invited several families over to our home to study current issues, such as the benefits women have in society and the value of men and fathers.  Then we did role plays with well-researched talking points from HomeFrontKids by United Families International.  Last week when my 16 year old daughter had to answer a homework question that assumed the oppression of women, we knew what research to back up her contrary answer.  From such talking points we craft arguments for or against bills, policies and candidates’ platforms.  We must understand the issues ourselves to educate and elect the best representatives.

Finding and assessing sources of information on candidates is a difficult, but not impossible task.   There’s a company out of Texas, iVoterGuide, that since 2008 has been assigning a rating to candidates based on a liberal-conservative scale. They take into account the candidate’s biography, scorecards, contributions, endorsements and answers to a questionnaire. It’s a reliable starting point for conversations and further investigation.  After reviewing data from iVoterGuide, it helps to compare what local groups have discovered. 

Local organizations have been watching our elected officials for years.  They know the history behind claims elected officials make.  For instance, if they read that one has “voted to get the porn out of schools” they also know it was after they neutered the policy. Becoming acquainted with local groups’ reports expands our understanding of the arguments surrounding issues, whether you agree with them or not.  For a list of local groups, visit the “Groups” tab of the free mobile app, Amplify USA, where the information and calls to action are posted from different social media platforms without the need to join any of them. Be sure to join them if you like what they share. 

After my due diligence, I currently have five signs decorating my front lawn.  Every time I pull up to the house I laugh because I think bumper stickers are obnoxious and then, there’s my house.  I worry my neighbors think my signs are divisive; political discussions are generally avoided because people don’t want to offend.  Unfortunately, homogeneity has been mistaken for unity, yet unity is best forged in a shared commitment to, and a belief in our neighbor’s intention to, promote the common good.  We all have different perspectives based on our lived experiences, which we must share with each other in order to see the whole picture. 

The names on my yard signs are the people whom I believe will promote the common good.  These good candidates are our brave neighbors who are taking a risk, spending their time and money to win something that may reward them with finger-pointing and hate as they do their best to serve their community and country.  Good candidates need our support with our words, yard signs and door knocking, especially for those who haven’t gathered signatures.  Utah’s caucus system supports the common citizen in rising up to serve, leaving government truly to the people and not to those with the largest bank accounts, but it only works if we show up with them.
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It may sound like a lot of work to get involved, but by having intentional family conversations, and using sophisticatedly-easy apps that reference representatives, candidates and local organizations, my family and yours can further the founder’s vision of an educated, self-governed people.  Civics as a subject, is like music. The study of its construction merely hints at the power of the performance where the actors work toward the common good.  If we have soured towards this idea, then that is our cue to enter. Our families’ consistent actions fulfilling our civic duty are the investment that reverses our nation’s civic decline. 
To get more involved visit VoteEducated.org