Don’t criticize from the sidelines, get in the game
The new year is a great time to make a tangible and lasting contribution to your community by being more involved in civic affairs close to home. Hampton Roads needs talented, committed residents to share their time and talents, and there’s no better way to affect change than by lending your passion to improving things.
As we venture into 2023, we do so with the painful knowledge that some things are beyond our control — and certainly beyond our prediction. As we rang in 2020, who thought that within a few months, life as we know it would be brought to a screeching halt by some virus we’d never even heard of? Who thought we’d be wearing masks and fighting over suddenly scarce supplies of hand sanitizer?
These last few years have been challenging, to put it mildly.
It’s not just the perpetual pandemic, although it takes a toll to see about 2,500 Americans succumb to COVID every week while so many simply ignore the virus altogether in our “new normal.”
There’s soaring inflation and frequent disruptions in something else many of us had barely thought about three years ago — the supply chain. The pandemic precipitated massive changes in the labor market, as folks in many professions — restaurant service, retail, child care, teaching, nursing — reconsidered their role in our society.
Bitter political divisions threaten the ability of government on various levels to function the way it should. Violence, including far too many shootings, leaves no Hampton Roads community untouched.
What about increasing evidence of the dangers of climate change, especially in our coastal communities? Or chronic poverty and racial disparity? Not to mention the epidemic of illegal and increasingly deadly drugs.
As the list of woes goes on, its enormity can be disheartening — and paralyzing.
That’s why it makes sense to narrow our focus to the things we might be able to control — starting with our own actions and responses to what’s going on in our communities.
Don’t worry if you didn’t make a New Year’s resolution. Instead, consider how you might make a difference. Remember the old saying about every journey beginning with the first step? Start the new year out right by deciding which first step to take.
Think about things you care about and how to get involved here, where you live. Attend public meetings. Learn what goes on, and speak up if you have something to say. Get involved on a board or commission and be willing to serve if it needs members; municipal governments are always looking for volunteers. Consider running for office.
Worried about what’s going on in the schools? Go to school board meetings. Volunteer to tutor or otherwise help in classrooms.
Worried about global warming, pollution and sea-level rise? Get involved with one of the local environmental groups and demand action from the public and private sector.
Concerned about children, or animals, or addictions, or hunger, or a disease or any number of other needs in our communities? There’s likely an advocacy group working to make things better, and that group could probably use your help. Who knows? You might even make new friends.
Most municipal governments list a wide range of volunteer opportunities on their web sites. If the link to such a list isn’t obvious, a quick search or phone call should do the trick.
What do you care about? Whatever your interests, don’t just grumble or worry about the way things are. Get involved with one of the boards or groups that need your help to make things better. You may not be able to make a worldwide impact, but you most likely can take some first steps that will make a difference here, where you live.
Who knows where that journey might lead?