Kol HaTnua - Voice of the Movement Getting Involved Through Civic Engagement

Anti-semitism is on the rise, racism is on the rise, hate is on the rise. Every hour in the United States a hate crime is committed. Someone who is full of hatred isn’t going to stop because of laws or armed guards. They will stop because of love and civic engagement.

The people of the Young Judaea community and the people of the world need to unite to stop all the blinding hate. We need civic engagement. Civic engagement is “working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes”. Civic engagement leads to change. Only we can vote a change, make a change and be the change we want to see. It all starts in your local community.

You have to take action if you want to see change. There are so many opportunities in every community for volunteerism or political participation. Communities need people to be more active. Volunteering has the power to transform communities and improve lives. Civic engagement is a tool which we can use to better the next generations. By teaching them to take direct action, be politically involved and volunteer they can develop the skills and confidence to better society. People who participate in civic engagement are healthier, wealthier and more satisfied with their lives.

Every community is plagued with issues that can be solved. Many times people are unaware of the severity of the problems. If you educate or campaign about the issue then it would be almost impossible for people to be unaware. To be more involved in your communities all you have to do is go to your town website to find more information. If you want to see a decrease in anti-semitism make it happen through civic engagement. People need to be educated not to hate and your community is the perfect place to start. You can make advertisements and post them around the community, create a program to be held at local schools, start a social media campaign, or become more politically active by joining a campaign or starting your own. Next Tuesday is the perfect opportunity for you to start making and seeing the change you want. Don’t forget to go out and vote!

~ Izzy Canning National Pirsum, Poughkeepsie NY