Be Your Own Best Politician

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While managing our workplaces and our homes, it’s unlikely that many of us have time for politics. Capitol Hill or even our state’s capitol’s political goings on are hardly on our radar screens as we simply try to keep schedules in check and children fed. But what if there was an issue in your own community that concerned you? Would you wait for someone else to take care of it? Politics isn’t limited to the issues debated by pundits on CNN. Women and mothers are able to lead political lives in their own communities. And even the smallest efforts can affect real change.

I have a friend of mine who hardly considered herself very political. She was like the rest of us just trying to keep her home and work life balanced. But things changed when she found out a convicted sex offender had moved into her neighborhood and was living directly across from her local playground. She and other mothers would find him sitting in his driveway, watching the children play. And yes, his proximity to the playground was legal. Loopholes and restrictions which didn’t carry across state borders gave him the right to live there. She was not ok with this. She contacted local representatives, she contacted news stations, she wrote letters to editors, she organized the mothers around her and had petitions signed. Eventually, she found herself on “Good Morning America” pleading her case. And you know those loopholes that allowed him to live that close to a playground? They were eventually changed. Why? Because my friend took some initiative and didn’t just wait for the problem to go away. Or worse.

Certainly, we are all not going to solve the world’s problems from our living rooms, but sometimes we may be the best advocates for certain issues without even realizing it. When taking on any issue, whether it be changing the school menu or changing the residency restrictions for a sex offender, we need to remember the following:

Don’t wait for someone else to fix a problem. Your voice is as good as any, why don’t you use it?

Let go of the fear. No doubt, it takes some courage to gather yourself and speak up about an issue at hand. Talk about this issue with friends and neighbors around you, draw on their support, and just try. You have nothing to lose.

Small steps make an enormous impact. Bringing an issue to the table, even if you may not be the one to fix it, is important. Every letter, email, voice, attempt at contact can bring change if there is enough passion and support behind it.

Are you convinced that you might want to take a stab at politics in your life? There are plenty of ways to be sure your voice is heard, to affect change around you for the better, and to be a political person. Here are some suggestions:

• Get involved at your child’s school. Attend PTA meetings, volunteer in the classroom, respond to surveys and letters sent out to parents – be a vocal part of your child’s community.
• Letters to the Editor. Whether it’s the local neighborhood flyer or the New York Times, if you have an issue you want to voice or respond to – write to the editor.
• Neighborhood groups. Not happy with what is happening in your neighborhood? Attend neighborhood meetings and get involved.
• Keep conversation lines open. Even if you are just talking about local issues with your neighbors, allow conversations to happen. Thinking will follow and action may eventually take place.
• Stay informed. Read your local paper. Read all those school notices that come home. Check websites. Read the fine print on everything. You never know what might be happening or what could fly under the radar screen unnoticed.
• Become invested in a topic you care about. Whether it is finding funds for safer playground equipment, suggesting peanut free school lunch options or organizing other parents to sanitize toys at public play areas – there are things you care about that you can change.
• Vote. Every single time.
• Blog. Want to reach out and connect about important topics? Blogging allows you to do that from your living room. There is a space for everyone to say their piece.

Now hopefully this has inspired some thinking about an issue that has been on your mind recently. Pick up the phone or sit down to a computer or find out what ways you can actually do something about it.

And finally, a special thank you to every mother who has done something to change their community in a positive way. If you have affected change in your community, tell your story here and inspire others!

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