Three Easy Steps to a Civic-Minded Life

 

“The practice of democracy is not passed down through the gene pool. It must be taught.” -Sandra Day O’Connor

 

It’s a new year, a new you! At least our #goals can help us become the new person we want to be. What are your goals this year? The number one question we get asked, since we started The American Moms two years ago, is how to start becoming more civic-minded, political, informed, involved, etc. If that’s a goal of yours this year, we are thrilled! And we can help.

Let this be the year you intentionally become a more active citizen of our country. If you feel like you know so little about this topic that the idea behind this seems daunting, don’t worry one little bit! We’ve broken it down into three easy steps for you. And all throughout 2019, we’ll be issuing challenges to help you become the best civic-minded citizen of this country that you can be. You can do this!

In no time, you’ll feel more aware of what’s going on around you and you’ll actually want to participate in civic dialogue and even confidently share your feelings (in the nicest way possible, of course) about politics. 

Step 1: Get Informed

You can’t be the change you wish to make in the world if you have no idea what’s going on in the world. So, let’s start there.

Being informed sounds like a no brainer, but it can be a challenge and something that you absolutely have to make time for. Get out of the mindset that news doesn’t matter. It does! Spend a few minutes a day either reading what’s going on in your world (city, state, nation, world, etc.) or watching the news. If you think you’re just too busy for it, think again. Check out this post for six ways to make staying informed incredibly easy.

If catching up on the news on a daily basis is just too much for you, subscribe to a weekly news recap like CNN. It will go straight to your inbox and we know you’re checking your phone often, so there’s no excuses. If there’s specific news you’re interested in, do a quick “google news” search with keyword items of issues you care about. Whatever way you do it, make it a priority this year. Get out of your bubble and discuss what’s going on with your kids. Lead by example. Show them that being informed is important.

Knowing what’s happening around you can launch great conversations with your kids, neighbors, and friends. It will even help you figure out what issues you deeply care about in your community that are being overlooked, neglected or need to be refocused.

Step 2: Do Your Research

It’s easy to know who our federally elected officials are (if you’ve been doing step #1, anyway). They’re usually in the news throughout the year. But do you have any idea who your governor is or who represents you in your state legislature or city council? Find out. Have a family meeting about it and make a game of trying to learn and recognize who all these people are. Sure, kids can’t vote yet, but it doesn’t mean we should deprive them of knowing how our government works– and who is making it work. You won’t believe the conversations they’re capable of having if they are armed with knowledge you never thought to share with them.

Once you find out who your local officials are, learn about them. What issues make them tick? What initiatives are they working on in your community? What’s coming up on your state legislature’s agenda? Knowing these types of things will help you with step #3.

In addition to studying up on who represents you in your city, as well as our country, there are a few other things you should know too. Do you know how the political system works and how our government is set up? We love the simplicity of this book, but you can easily study up online as well. Knowing how our government operates helps make more sense of why things are being done a certain way and figuring out what happens next.

If it’s an election season, do you know where to vote? Do you know who/what’s on your ballot or where to even find that info? Go here to get started.

The U.S. citizenship test requires applicants to pass a 100 question test about civics and history. Whoa! Let’s say that again, civics AND history! Yes, history, too–it’s just as important. If Congress passed a new law that said even current citizens of the U.S. had to pass the citizenship test too, could you do it? Find out here. If not, get studying. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offers some great resources. Here is a good place to start on the civic portion. If you’re looking for a crash course in U.S. history, this Everything You Need to Know to Ace American History is a real winner (in fact, I keep it in my car to read while I wait to pick up kids from school).

Step 3: Take Action

There’s a great big world out there that needs you–and your kids! Teach them to look outside their own little bubble to find ways to help. Lead by example. If you find yourself passionate about a local or national issue, do something about it. Involve your kids. Write your local or federal officials (find tips to do that here), attend a city council meeting, set up a meeting with your state representative, visit your local party office to see how you can get involved, etc. The possibilities are endless.

The point is that both young and old have a role in building our communities. Being civic-minded means just that–that you are always thinking about and looking for ways to participate in and improve where you live. It’s taking ownership of where you live and of your privilege of being a U.S. citizen.

For help and ideas with taking action, you can sign up here for challenges we’ll be issuing throughout the year.

Bonus: Monthly Challenges

To help break down our three steps to achieving a more civic-minded home, we’re going to make it easy for you– all while having some fun, of course. This year, we’ll be issuing challenges that go along with each of the above steps. If you’d like to participate in our 2019 monthly challenges, sign up here to be the first to know about them.

If you want to be the change you wish to see in the world, it starts right now.