Election Day was only the start. Why you should keep paying attention to local politics
Everywhere we live can be as large (or as small) as we wish it to be. We control the definition and depth of what, between ourselves, we call "my little town."
Norwich, as cities go, isn't especially large, if your frame of reference is a Bridgeport or a Hartford, but it can seem that way when you live in one of our neighbors, all of which are far smaller though they probably prefer "cozy" or "intimate," and those are fine descriptions as well.
My point? When we in small cities speak of "them" in our city government, we're really talking about "us," since many of the elected and appointed leadership in municipalities of 75,000 and less are likely acquaintances, friends and neighbors.
On the second Tuesday of this month (seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it; but it was just three weeks) across these United States, we participated in elections that altered, or, at the very least, had the potential to alter nearly every aspect of our local governance and by extension our daily lives
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All we had to do was choose wisely and well (something we're not always known for as a species; see seersucker jumpsuits and porkchop sideburns as just two examples of what I mean), but too many of us let others make our choices on Election Day and prefer to stand on the sidelines, lurking with a pseudonym in the comments section of local newspapers and social media platforms, or be a blinking telephone hold button to a call-in show rather than take the time to own the decisions we’re so comfortable criticizing others for making. Here in Connecticut, if you remember, we were choosing a new governor, as well as both houses of our legislature. In case you forgot, that was our skin in this game.
I defer to the bloviating blowhards of The Left and The Right (caps in these cases are a given; the gowns, not so much) on all the chatter channels to tell me why the residents of Moosejaw, Montana, voted to outlaw sippy cups and what that means for health care reform. (And yes, that’s a made-up election outcome (I hope) and I believe, very possibly, also an imaginary place.)
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I’m aware of the butterfly effect, that is, how small things can have unforeseen impacts on complex and far-removed systems and all I can say is: It’s about time that it started to happen, so bring it on. What we should have learned from all the campaigning and voting is how much there is yet to do across this country, our state and here in Norwich, to better fulfill the promise of the Founders and realize the dreams we have for ourselves and our loved ones.
We need to continue to press on, one brick at a time, not through a plate glass window, but on top of the previous one, to build the foundation we will use to construct the bridge that takes us from the here and now to the where we need to go. Every one of us can do something, that's the greatest joy of local government. Each of us can not only make a difference but help be the difference.
Don’t you get tired of waiting? What’s stopping you from being the change you want to see in the world?
Bill Kenny, of Norwich, writes a weekly column about Norwich issues. His blog, Tilting at Windmills, can be accessed at https://tiltingatwindmills-dweeb.blogspot.com/.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Beyond Election Day: Stay involved in Norwich, local government
