Civic Engagement While Socially Conscious

This is going to be a rather interesting post because it was a request from a dearest friend of mine. Their name will remain anonymous, but the topic which was brought across is of great curiosity. The topic of course, is whether or not I find myself to be actively engaged in civic events while retaining my social consciousness during my present days.

Well, for those who don't know what either means, I'll give you a breakdown. Civic engagement is active participation in collecting individual or group actions to address a public issue. While the latter is the person's ability to be aware of everything that is happening around them. 

So for example, I'm living in a rural community where issues which occur are very frequent. Meetings are always held between the town's people so they all understand what to fix in the present and what to expect in the past. So each individual which is involved in this town meeting would be placed at the highest extreme end of the spectrum, whilst their rival identity is  placed on the lower end. The lower end would consist of individuals who do not engage themselves with the rest of the town's peoples and does not care of the issues which might occur. 

Taking all that into consideration, I would place myself on a scale of 1-10(low to high), as a 7. Being that certain circumstances impact my participation in my community, I wouldn't place myself as being actively involved. However, it does not mean I don't look here and there to catch up on some local news which might be of importance. I always take time to read a paper, look up newsletters, and I even get frequent emails regarding national issues. In a sense, I feel like Ellie Town, from Flowing Wells, AZ, who said, 

“When I was working,” recalled Ellie Town, “I’d just get up in the morning and go to work. When I’d come home, I’d do what I had to do and go to bed. I didn’t pay attention to what was going on around me. When I retired, I realized what was going on in the community. That’s when I said, `I’ve got to do something about it.’”Ellie Town's Success Story

As I get older, I know that my involvement with the community will have to grow because I will slowly become a stitch in the community blanket. I will be one of the town's people who will have to make sure that my community is taken care of and is safe for any future generations that will reside in the community after I am gone.

In regards to the rest of the world's people, always make sure to be actively engaged with your community. They are your family as well, even though you may not know them all too well. Because when it counts, they can be your greatest ally and greatest support when push comes to shove.