Getting Political

 

In Howard County there are people who have a good deal of experience in politics. Some have held elected office. Some have worked on political campaigns. We also have people who follow what is going on locally and statewide not only by reading the newspapers and checking social media but also by attending/watching public meetings, submitting testimony, or serving on committees.

We have people who hold themselves in high esteem as learned political analysts. We have people with experience and insight. Sometimes those two groups overlap. Not always.

I’ve long said that I’m not a political blogger. I’m aware that it’s not my area of expertise. I’m a community blogger who will occasionally step up and discuss political races if I feel that what is at stake will impact the community in such a way that I think it would be wrong for me to ignore it. 

I can imagine some of my more politically-minded friends laughing a bit at this. “All politics affect community,” I can hear them saying. “You can’t keep them in separate compartments.”

The thing is, I don’t enjoy politics for its own sake: door knocking, fundraisers, the carefully worded press releases followed by hecklers from The Other Side launching a counter attack. And I have an aversion to the horse race aspect of politics. I truly dislike all of it. I have friends who are energized by it. I guess that’s a good thing. Somebody has to.

That be said, as I have been seeing  announcements (almost daily) from candidates entering the political arena and those declaring their intent to run again, I’m finding myself more interested than ever in local and state races. I don’t see myself as a political analyst or activist (and you may feel the same way about yourself) but we are absolutely qualified to stay informed, ask questions, and learn as much as we can about the important issues in Columbia/HoCo and the candidates who aspire to address them.

About a year I wrote this about possible outcomes of the Presidential Election:

If you can look at [the two candidates] and think you’ll be fine either way, then you have a privilege that many Americans do not. If you, or people you care about, are:

LGBTQ+

Muslim

Have pre-existing conditions

Black Americans

Refugees

Immigrants

Women

...then it will not be fine either way. 

A year later it’s clear that teachers, librarians (and intellectual freedom) have been added to that “hit” list. Yes, even right here in Columbia/HoCo.

Current events have shown how certain toxic talking points are being pushed from one community to the next as a means of changing both educational and political outcomes. We’re seeing angry public meetings and public speakers with dubious qualifications invited from out of town to hold forth on an ideology which is inches away from creating destructive political platforms.

So I’ll be writing more during this election cycle about issues and themes that matter to us as a community. It would be irresponsible of me not to. I’ll probably be asking a lot of questions and offer a number of ideas for us to examine together. 

As always, I invite you to participate in the comments.