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We can't get involved in politics or our communities because we are too busy working our job(s) to pay our bills, right? I recall having bristled a few years back when someone suggested I volunteer my precious time and energy.
“Volunteer?" The word evoked repugnant mental associations linked in my mind to words such as 'sucker' and 'fool'.
"I’m working 2 jobs right now just to break even. When I am not doing that, it’s nice to relax every now and then, or at least occasionally get enough sleep…â€Â
I have since found practical, social, and professional benefits from getting involved in things beyond my immediate social circle that friends, family, and coworkers comprise.
But as I burn the fat in my credit union account---well, ok, as I cut into the bones and tendons of it--- I am turning over in my mind a sort of chicken-and-egg question.
Many of us think we can’t get involved in the political process because we're too busy working 2 or more jobs to provide for ourselves and our families.
Yet, in constrast to that, some of us may think that no matter how busy we are at working our jobs, we need to get involved in our communities and in the political process. Correcting the politics and culture that put us in this situation to begin with would be our reason for getting involved.
Politicians and business leaders are at least partly to blame for the economic problems of ordinary people, yes or no ?
If yes, would fixing that problem require ordinary people to get involved in the political process? Does public apathy create a vacuum people who abuse their power tend to fill ?
But doesn't a person's individual actions have at least some bearing on her or his financial situation ? My answer is yes, at least as it pertains to my own life.
I filed bankruptcy in 2005. It was not because business leaders or politicians made macro-economic decisions that hurt me. It was because I went four years without having a job that provided income, based on what was then my conception of what it meant to dedicate myself to writing and college coursework.
Having said this though, I believe the decisions of policy makers are at least part of the cause for many people's current financial challenges, mine not included.
So, in regard to whether we think we are too busy trying to pay our bills to get involved in our communities, please consider this additional question.
Does the following vicious cycle exist, and if so, what can we do about it : the more political and economic power is concentrated, the more difficult it becomes for ordinary people to reverse the trend ?
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.