How important is “civic engagement” to our well-being and that of our communities and society?  And how can we foster civic engagement – citizen involvement?

These are among the issues explored in “Building a Better Citizen,” an excellent article by David Villano.

Villano is described as “an award-winning, Miami-based journalist who has contributed to dozens of publications, including The Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Newsweek, Mother Jones and the Columbia Journalism Review.”  The piece appears in Miller-McCune magazine.

Here’s a brief excerpt:

For their part, Americans seem ready to re-engage, but they also, somewhat paradoxically, expect government to pave the way. The National Conference on Citizenship’s 2008 Civic Health Survey found that Americans overwhelmingly support laws and policies to improve citizenship. Among the initiatives researchers tested for public support: civics education in schools, service learning and tuition-for-service programs, and town hall-style gatherings to deliberate on issues of local or national importance. In other words, Americans need cajoling. Last year, for example, 67 percent of survey respondents said volunteering was personally important to them, but only 27 percent actually do volunteer.

If you’d like to read David Villano’s article, simply click on the following link:  Building a Better Citizen – How the government can make us better at self-government.

I encourage YOU to “engage” by sharing any thoughts you may have regarding the article, using the “Leave a Reply” box you’ll find below.

Bruce Snook
River Country Journal

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