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As we are starting to celebrate 250 years of events that lead to the creation of our nation, it is integral to our remembrance of the past and our hopes of the future of our United States to understand why democracy matters, to whom does it matter and ultimately how we can celebrate as a whole, inclusive community of citizens.
Why:
The beautiful thing about a working democracy is its ability to evolve with the population, to recognize and correct mistakes, to introduce policy change and to stimulate discourse about what kind of society we want in the future. Democracy is dynamic!
The ability of American democracy to endure and thrive entirely depends on the engagement of its citizens. You don't need a degree, a business suit or dollar to your name to be able to exercise your democratic rights.
How:
Register to vote!
Not only does this give you power at the polls, but it also lets you sign petitions and ballot initiatives. Whether supporting a friend or neighbor who wants to run for city council or adding your support to a citizen-led ballot initiative, your signature WILL make a difference.
It only takes a moment online to register or to update your registration.
Celebrate your democratic right to vote!
Using your right to vote is a crucial part of maintaining a dynamic and healthy democracy. This is why voting is often referred to as "the heartbeat of democracy;" but just like with your actual heartbeat, there are other rights we need to exercise in order to maintain a healthy heart.
If you feel like you may not be able to make it to your polling station on an election day, you can request an absentee ballot seven days before the election.
You can also participate in early in-person voting at an election office near you. Voter registration, absentee ballot and early voting office information is available at ohio.gov.
Communicate with YOUR elected officials!
A quick phone call or email message to your representative about what you want to see happen in your community or district can go a long way. You can also attend a city council, school board, or county meeting (many of which are available via Zoom or posted later on YouTube).
All Ohio Statehouse sessions are broadcast on OhioChannel.org. You can also offer in person or written testimony for committees.
Write a letter to the editor!
Writing a letter to the editor is a great way to communicate to your community about issues you are concerned with and/or passionate about.
LTEs are useful in starting a community conversation about an issue important to you. If other members of your community share an interest in the same issue they may start vocalizing their concerns as well, helping to create more awareness.
Organize!
In a democracy, power ultimately lies with the people, community organizing is a bottom-up approach to power-building. Through collective action around a shared issue everyday citizens can create real change for themselves, their families, and their neighbors.
Community organizing allows you to draw on the collective strengths and authentic leadership of individual community members to achieve shared goals for social change.
You know what's best for your life and your local community members know what's best for theirs, it's important that your needs are being heard in government so that it can truly represent the wills of the people. Through these small but mighty actions of voting, communicating, writing and speaking to our community and our representatives, organizing and strengthening that community, we can move forward with hope and joy knowing that we are heard and involved in our own governance.
As we celebrate the anniversaries of what others did 250 years ago, we can also celebrate what we are actively doing to cultivate and build on our dynamic democracy.
Natalie Johnson and Meredith Pickerel for Living Democracy: Engaging Citizens a project of Speak for Yourself. Vote. See more on Facebook/Speak for yourself Vote and video interviews with local officials on our Youtube channel, Living Democracy.