Getting Involved: Red Said, Blue Said

How can we increase participation in civic affairs?

The Blue Perspective: Erin Egan

I have never considered myself a political person. But when the twins were born, I remember feeling like I needed to take more responsibility for the world they would be growing up in. I suddenly wanted to be more connected to our community, engaged in our city and state, and knowledgeable about our country and the world. Finn and Cole raised the stakes; for me, they made the personal political.  
 
So I left the practice of law to run Colorado operations for Democrats Work, a non-profit organization that mobilizes Democrats to do community service projects, branded as Democrats. In the short term, our goals are to serve community needs and to show our neighbors that Democrats are putting our values into action year-round, not just at election time. The long-term goal is to build a politics of service—one that values deeds over words. In the last year and a half, more than 750 Colorado Democrats have come together to plant trees, paint out graffiti, clean parks and trails, organize care packages for troops, maintain schools, serve at soup kitchens and food banks, make Valentines for veterans, and much more. That feels pretty good!
 
I suspect that many folks out there would like to participate in the civic life of their communities and country. I also suspect that many of these people find “traditional politics” to be distasteful. If the options for participation are supporting candidates who only ask us for money, cold calling neighbors we don’t know, or just showing up to vote, I can understand why people don’t get too involved.
 
For me, getting engaged required that “politics” become more relevant. If we define politics as only the stuff that happens in Washington, DC (or, more accurately, doesn’t happen!), then it’s hard to feel like politics are connected to our daily lives. But it is easy for me to get on board with a politics that recognizes community service as an integral part of political engagement and returns politics to its roots: where political organizations directly serve the community and citizens are empowered to take action.
 
Fortunately, I am not suggesting that everyone needs to birth multiples in order to feel the tug of public service! What I am saying is that to broaden participation in civic affairs, we need to broaden what it means to be involved in politics.