Why we need to be active citizens

In many ways we have become a society of armchair citizens. When I compare how many stories I hear at work and from friends about all the things about the city, the traffic, the neighborhood, the grocery store that they don't like, and then contrast that with how many stories I hear about people actually actively participating in fixing it, or making their voices heard where they can influence the outcome, there's a significant imbalance.

A few stories which come to mind:

In the last few weeks I noticed that our yard / recycle wasn't picked up as usual. The first week I didn't think much of it, the second week when all recycle in the neighborhood wasn't picked up I ended up calling the local trash hauler. First I thought the driver missed the neighborhood. But they called me back the next day and informed me that my city had re-negotiated the contract and requested that they alternate weeks between yard and recycle. That effectively means a reduction in service, and would mean I'd have a harder time recycling as my recycle can is full every week as it stands. That seemed counter-intuitive to me. I told the guy from the trash hauler what I thought, but that I also understood that this wasn't his decision, and that I would contact the city. Which I did. And the person at the city hall which was responsible for the contract called me back and explained that they had consolidated contracts between two trash haulers left over from the incorporation of the city a few years back, and when they set recycle service levels they based it on the lower service level parts of the city had, rather than the more frequent service level that was present in my neighborhood. But by the time I spoke to him, they had already gotten enough feedback on the topic that they were looking into restoring the weekly pickup.

Interestingly enough, when I talked to other folks in our neighborhood, most of them were upset about the change, but none had taken any action yet, or knew why it happened. However, if no one talks to the guys making decisions or giving them feedback, they don't know that they made a poor choice, and are much less likely to correct it.

This is also where it pays to live in a smaller community, as you can actually find out the person involved, and you stand a living chance to talk to that person. Live in a major city, and it becomes a lot more anonymous.

And I had similar experiences in the last few years, in other places I lived, when it came to speed limits, traffic lights, etc.

On a similar note, last winter when the big wind storm knocked out power to most of the Seattle East Side for several days (we were without power for 3 days, others for as much as 7 days), the neighborhood was very quiet, almost deserted. You knew everyone was in their house, trying to keep warm without heater, fretting over all the food going bad in the fridge which was without power, entertaining kids without Xbox or TV. Yet, hardly anyone went outside, talked to neighbors, or tried to help each other out.

It's the same behavior we see when you drive around town, and an accident happens in front of you. Very few cars will stop and see if help is needed, yet everyone will tell their friend about the accident they saw and what they thought about it.

This level of inactivity unfortunately leads to the political landscape we have now. It leaves the media and the podium to those who are ably filling them even if they don't represent the majority. Be it on such national topics as abortion vs. right to live, immigration, our opinion on the war in Iraq, global warming. Be it on the international podium where media savvy terrorists and religious extremists have managed to grab the mic from more moderate thinkers. Today's issues are controlled by fringe groups not the majority, because the majority has become silent.

Why? Is it because we've all watched too much TV, where you're a silent bi-stander and your only voting power is to tune out by changing the channel? Are we all changing the channel if we don't like things around us? Or has the economy and our lifestyles made us so busy at work and with all the activities of getting kids to after school sports, and all the other things on one's daily calendar, that there's no time left for the optional things. Has taking an active role in the community, and representing your opinion become an optional thing?

Post scriptum: We actually enjoy a society where for the most part we have the freedom to be active citizens without the fear of reprisal. Not all countries and societies have this level of freedom. And when we are serious about wanting to export Democracy to the rest of the world as a means for achieving world peace, then we need to start with demonstrating it at home, rather than taking the 'do as I say, not as I do' attitude.