"We've mistaken expression for impact, conflating social media dust-ups with actual power. We've neglected the unglamorous work that holds societies together: governing, problem-solving, and cooperating across differences. My research shows that real change happens not in viral TikToks but in drab meeting rooms - the phones-down, notebooks-out work of local governance. It's there that we make progress and bridge divides."
"Only about one in ten Americans regularly attend public meetings - a number that's barely budged in decades, according to the AmeriCorps Civic Engagement and Volunteering Dashboard. Membership in local organizations, from neighborhood associations to service clubs, has also plummeted, eroding the civic pathways that once connected everyday life to politics. A recent YouGov survey for Stanford's Hoover Institution found that 64 percent of Americans have never tried to influence a local decision"
America faces rising political violence, congressional paralysis, and collapsing trust in institutions. Passion for change has outpaced understanding of how change happens in practice. Expression on social media is often mistaken for actual power, distracting from the unglamorous work that holds societies together: governing, problem-solving, and cooperating across differences. Real progress occurs in local governance — routine public meetings, civic organizations, and cross-partisan cooperation. Civic participation has declined: roughly one in ten Americans regularly attend public meetings, and membership in local organizations has plummeted. Existing federal structures and community institutions contain necessary tools for local problem-solving. What is lacking is the political will to engage in everyday civic work.
Read at Big Think
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