I don’t think I’m alone in saying that this has been a rough week. (It’s Tuesday as I write this — long way to go)
There’s a lot going on, and if you’re tired of hearing about it I get it, but stay with me because I think this is important.
Everyone has their own reactions, feelings and fears related to the events in our country this week, and I’m privileged to be a straight white non-disabled male.
When we hear about the things that are happening in our nation’s capital, and the fallout around the country and the world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This fall, I removed all social media off my phone. As a result, when I wake up in the morning there’s nothing for me to do on my phone other than open my New York Times app.
There are professionals out there who study this sort of thing and could offer more thoughts but even I’m smart enough to recognize that this is a terrible idea. Nothing like kicking off the day with the latest in policy changes, foreign relations and what gestures Elon Musk is doing on stage today.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel like everything is falling apart, and honestly, it is. Like it or not, we are the next generation of change makers, as overused and oversimplified as that is. While it’s important to try and enact change on a national scale, it is also important to focus on our local communities, and make change on a smaller scale.
I’ve been lucky to see good examples of small scale change in the last few years, and there are a wide variety of ways that you can do this. Some things are as simple as reading local news, or even contributing to your local publication. Visit local stores, go to city council meetings, all that good stuff that sounds good in theory, but requires a little more work.
Then there are some big examples. Take Scott Lehman, a music teacher in the Concord School district, who, every summer, sacrifices his own time and money to put on Float Fest, an all day music festival that has attendees floating down the Millrace to see the concerts in people’s backyards. The turnout and the festival gets bigger every year, and I would highly recommend it if you’re in the Goshen area this June.
Or think about our own Jason Samuel, director of Globe Media, who used his own vacation days this summer to volunteer at Ox Bow County Park and lead the renovation of the disc golf course there. The course is easily the nicest in the area, thanks to the work of one person who was willing to put the needs of his local community before himself.
You don’t have to put on a whole music festival by yourself to live this out, just go to the Goshen Farmers Market on Saturday morning and spend some money, listen to a local radio station, go downtown and walk around on First Fridays.
It’s a balancing act, holding local and national issues, I’m by no means saying to bury your head in the sand — just to look for ways to make an immediate, personal impact on the people we should care about the most — our neighbors.
