Go to your city council meetings
I decided to do my civic duty and start going to my local city council meetings, in the hope of staying more informed about local issues, and affecting the things I can actually affect.
I was one of two people in the audience. Things that happened tonight:
-Only other lady in the audience got up at the end during the public comment period and gave an absolutely scathing rant about Trump, comparing his actions to Nazi Germany and predicting a new Holocaust. I am officially in love with her.
-Apparently all the council people and Mayor were speculating about who I was, because they know everyone who usually shows up and I was a stranger. (Someone thought I was a reporter 😂).
-I got waylaid afterwards. They are starved for attention & participation. One of the councilwomen literally pressed her business card on me and told me about the secret meeting prior to the council meeting, which isn’t on their website but is still open to the public. (She’s the one who told me her colleague had accused me of being a reporter 😂)
-I got introduced around the room to several additional people, and got to complain about the shitty sidewalks in my neighborhood. They said they would look into it!
Anyways- positive experience overall; do recommend. If nothing else, our city broadcasts the meetings on local TV and yours may too; you can stay informed that way. But going in person gets your face known, and means you can actually have an effect.
Small positive change is still positive change.
amhrancas 