Posted By: BossE Stone

July 1, 2008

“Civil society, at least as I see it, is simply one of the great opportunities for human responsibility for the world.” – Vaclav Havel

I am a bit of a civic engagement junky. So, when I recently heard some guy tell some gal that a mutual friend of theirs was doing door-to-door sales for Obama, I had to set the record straight.

Canvassing and phone banking (a.k.a. grassroots efforts) for a candidate or political cause is not the same thing as door-to-door or telemarketing sales, it is called civic engagement.

In both sales and civic engagement you can visit people at their houses, or call them at hours when they may be eating and try to engage them in a conversation they may not want to have, but that is where the similarities end.

So, what is civil society and civic engagement? Let’s start with this statement by former Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel: “In the most general terms, we could perhaps describe it as a society in which citizens participate - in many parallel, mutually complementary ways - in public life, in the administration of public goods and in public decisions.” (A Speech on the Occasion of “Vaclav Havel’s Civil Society Symosium”)

Civic engagement would be the practice of getting others involved “in the administration of public goods and in public decisions.”

The best way to do that is talk to people, face to face or over the phone. TV commercials are good at throwing out slogans, but talking with someone gives them a chance to talk about their thoughts and think about what is really important to them.

During the primary season, one of my conversations with a working class Democrat went like this:

Other person: “I really want Hillary Clinton to win.”

Me: “Ok, Why is that?”

Other person: “Because we simply can’t have Obama as our nominee.”

Me: “Why do you say that?”

Other person: “Because, you know, he’s different.”

Me: “No, I don’t know. Please tell me.”

Other person: “You know, different.”

Me: “Well, if Obama does become the Democratic Nominee, I hope that you can look past the differences and see that the policies he promotes will be better for working class people than McCain’s.”

That was a tough conversation to have, and I went into more detail about how and why and that person listened. Did I make an impact? I have no way of knowing, because I will probably never talk to that person again. I may have, and hope that I did.

Regardless, this is an example of other conversations that need to happen. Civic engagement isn’t about instant gratification. It is about building and maintaining a good civil society and democracy.

It is also just about people being afraid of the “different.” The thirty-second commercials and 10 second sound bites are what most folks get for their politics, especially, those who don’t have a social circle where politics is discussed.

So you, potential canvasser or caller, can maybe change someone’s mind.

You can have more impact than just “digging” my post and passing it on to others. Remember, not everyone reads this stuff.

In following with the slogan, “Yes, We Can,” we must do. We have to continue and expand upon the “grassroots” efforts that happened in the primaries. We have to be willing to go to those tough to win states and have difficult conversations with potentially hostile people.

To help you think about this, here is another quote from President Havel: “Consequently, civil society is the best safeguard, not only against political chaos but also against the rise of authoritarian forces that always emerge whenever a society feels shaken or insecure about its future.”

Be brave, and remember that it is your civic and patriotic duty. Now get out and canvass or make some calls. Yes, you can.

And for those of you following the corn and beans report: June 30, corn closed at $7.25 and beans closed at $16.05.