To be an American citizen

To be an American citizen

Fireworks, check. (Both the ones set off by the local town last night and the ones set off close to midnight by the annoying neighbors).
Hamburgers and sweet corn, check.
Parade, check (to be experienced this afternoon).
Listening to the 1812 Overture, check.
I think I’ve pretty much done my American duty when it comes to celebrating Independence Day. But I received an email yesterday that really interested me and made me think of doing just a little more as a citizen.
It was an email from Lake County United, “a non-profit, non-partisan organization of civil society institutions (that) work for a just society through active citizenship.” My previous church is a member of LCU and I was never quite as involved as I would have liked, but the email caught my attention. The first paragraph: “Did you know that there are over 270 boards and commissions in Illinois, many of which are important, powerful and in need of new leadership? One thing they share in common is the fact that they are filled with vacancies due to ex-Governor Blagojevich’s inattention.” The email went on to encourage everyone to look through the list of vacancies and apply to fill one. The list is fascinating and includes everything from the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to the Workforce Investment Board.
This intrigued me for a couple reasons. First, politics has always fascinated me so it was interesting to look through all the councils and commissions. Second, I’ve really been bothered by the seeming lack of ethics in our state’s government. If I’m bothered so much by this, shouldn’t I do something other than grouse to my wife or write on this blog? Should I really apply to be part of one of these commissions?
Here’s the issue. These kinds of things always interest me and yet I’ve never been a big fan of meetings. There have been a few times when I’ve been invited to be a part of a board and I quickly agree and then I sit through long meetings wondering why I ever agreed. I think my ego sometimes runs ahead (gee, wouldn’t it be cool to serve on this board/council/commission) and my brain follows, but then my brain plays a game of I-told-you-so when I sit there at a board/bored meeting, thinking of all the things I could be doing.
So I need to sit on this for a bit and learn a little about serving on a commission before I even think about applying (of course, there may be political games way, way over my head at play here and I really don’t have a shot at serving on any of these).
But it seems to me that to be a concerned citizen, one who wants transparency and morality in government, one should look at doing something other than slathering butter on his corn and cheering at the parades. These things are fun to do, but maybe there’s something more.

Saturday, July 4, 2009