I plan to share highlights from my weekly posts every month or so via the WordPress email newsletter (I do not use the email newsletter for weekly post sharing). This is the first of that routine. Let me know what you think.
I started this writing and doing effort because we are in batshit times. No matter which of several scenarios I could imagine playing out – from dystopian to hopeful to somewhere in between – the most positive action I could take is to become more deeply connected to my local community. Think: City, neighborhood, apartment complex.
This is what history teaches us about resistance and collective action. Be connected locally and you’ll find the path to join others nationally.
But the local focus also appeals to my hopeful mindset: What might we do to be better if we successfully navigate out of batshitville? Answer: Address local challenges in ways that model our democratic and inclusive and caring values.
My focus is local and on doing things. Not just writing. Yet, for me, the writing is how I think my way into new things to do. And then to learn from the doing.
Here’s what I’ve written since January.
In A 2025 starter: Community, connections and things that connect us I laid out how digging into the stories of my family and ancestors unexpectedly brought to light how local community connections play a role in navigating challenging times. The Great Depression. The Civil War. Pandemics. Personal tragedies.
Then it was at a meeting with a candidate for one of Evanston’s open city council seats that it became clear where and how I might contribute to the community: By contributing to community listening activities. At what point does your spidey sense tell you that you have the right amount of community input?
In The value of leaky community boundaries, Community listening and co-creation, and Inquiry vs. hurling opinions, I’m really starting to flesh out what I mean by “community listening.” This is helpful when I have conversations with folks about potential opportunities to lend a hand and contribute. It gives me a chance to test out where I (a newbie to civic community work) might find common ground with on-going work or work that needs to be done. Writing that all out was a helpful exercise.
It’s led me to focus on my potential contribution as working to improve outcomes in any of these three general challenges:
- How a group listens to the community members it serves.
- How a group makes sense of what it is hearing from community members.
- How community members move from only sharing ideas and opinions to co-creating potential solutions.
Overlaying those general challenges are several specific issues in Evanston where there is on-going work and work that needs to be done, and where I am focusing my outreach efforts:
- Fair, affordable and sustainable housing.
- Access to healthcare and healthy environments (the social determinants of health).
- Environmental justice.
And yes, these three issues intersect. They are fundamentally systemic.
So what am I actually doing? I cover a bit of that in Small actions, crossing small Rubicons and visibility. A group of neighbors and I started a quarterly newsletter for our apartment community and the first issue just got published. As we hoped, it’s energizing a sense of community. I’m also finding other ways to try to be more visible in the community. And finally, I continue to reach out to find connections to those folks working in areas where community listening is a key activity, looking for ways to engage.
Onward. The only way out of batshitville.
Note: The photographs which accompany these posts are taken by me, and show different settings and views of Evanston (where I live). It is a visual reminder that this is the most important setting for belonging and contributing to community; my neighborhood, my city.
Jeff Merrell 