Local Work, National Impact
In his Inaugural Address, President Joe Biden emphasized the theme of unity. “History, faith and reason show the way, the way of unity,” he said. “We can see each other not as adversaries, but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect.”
As a Republican elected official, I will surely disagree with many of President Biden’s policies over the next four years. But I can wholeheartedly embrace what Biden calls “the way of unity” with its basis in regarding each other as neighbors.
In the words of Susan Clark and Woden Teachout, authors of Slow Democracy: Rediscovering Community, Bringing Decision Making Back Home, neighborliness is “that quality that turns a ‘town’ into a ‘community,’ and ‘abutters’ into ‘neighbors.’”
Visiting a food bank in Fife, Washington.
Neighborliness transcends partisanship, ideology, and other differences. I have often seen the extraordinary capacity of neighbors giving back to their community, be they progressives, conservatives, or independents. I see this in the Kiwanis Club of Puyallup, where I have volunteered at the state fair parking lot, or in ringing the Salvation Army bell during the holiday season, or in the serving line at the annual spaghetti feed—alongside fellow Kiwanians who span the political spectrum. I see this too among the volunteers for our local food bank, and the homeless shelter organization, and the local Communities in Schools organization—all supported enthusiastically by volunteers and donors who are all over the map politically. I think of the many wonderful interactions I have had with members of labor unions, conservation groups, neighborhood councils, and the local Chamber of Commerce during my time in public service. The citizens I met in these connections may have belonged to one political party or another, but the reason we could find common ground was because we shared a common love for our community.
Sometimes people get involved in organizations or causes that align more closely with one side of the spectrum or another, and that’s okay too. Even causes that are fully partisan don’t preclude the possibility of crossing the aisle.
In any of these instances, neighbors choose to spend their time and energy in a way that they can grow the stock of social capital rather than depleting it. The pattern of these relationships, by and large, has a positive effect on our shared life.
Volunteering for a parking lot fundraiser with a fellow Kiwanian in 2019.
Amid all of our disagreements, there is one big idea that progressives and conservatives and independents can all agree on: we value the chance to be engaged in our communities. Conservatives emphasize a larger space for private participation, while progressives emphasize a larger space for public participation. But there is value in public and private participation.
Participation is the essence of American citizenship, and it encompasses many parts of our civic life. “The word participation has been used in recent decades chiefly to denote political involvement, as in the phrase participatory democracy,” wrote John W. Gardner in On Leadership. “But it is not wise to allow a valuable word to be so arbitrarily narrowed. Parents who serve on the school board are participating. So is the senior citizen who serves as a volunteer in a hospice for the terminally ill. So is the college student who serves as a volunteer tutor for disadvantaged children. All are making their constructive contribution to the life of the community—taking part, participating. The voluntary sector of our society offers endless opportunities for such involvement.”
The key to restoring friendliness in politics is not so much about changing our political systems as it is about taking an active role in a range of community activities.
What we need, most fundamentally, is to renew the commitments that grow social capital all around us—this is especially important during this time of pandemic. As former Montana Speaker of the House and Missoula Mayor Daniel Kemmis wrote in his book Community and the Politics of Place, “It is in being good neighbors that people very often engage in those simple, homely practices which are the last, best hope for the revival of genuine public life. In valuing neighborliness, people value that upon which citizenship most essentially depends.”
Civic participation in all of its forms allows us to see the impact of our actions in tangible ways. It raises our expectations for ourselves and for others like us who take part in service. It gives us a realistic sense of what it takes to accomplish something meaningful in the world—we know the kind of work and relationship-building and meetings and trial-and-error that is required to make a go of a worthwhile endeavor.
While caring neighbors tend to focus their energies on local issues, causes, and neighborhoods, their collective impact is national. And the prospects for national impact are very real when we consider that there are people doing their best to make their communities better for the next generation in town after town, city after city, all across America.
America’s communities are changing, and as they do, it is up to all of us to know and respect our local places, to welcome newcomers and introduce them to longer-term residents, and to help our neighbors who have less than we do. In these ways, we will make our communities durable and we will make inevitable changes to our communities sustainable. As we recognize this occurring in our midst, we will win trust among each other and find the common ground we need to move forward as fellow Americans.
Cover image via Josh Hild on Unsplash.
About the Author
Hans Zeiger is a member of the Pierce County Council in Washington State and he served in the state legislature from 2011-2020. He was a Jackson Leadership Fellow of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and a Rodel Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Zeiger was the 2015 co-recipient of the Gabrielle Giffords Award for Civility in State Governance from the National Institute for Civil Discourse.