Politics Changed

There is political action in the county this weekend. The university homecoming parade was Friday and the county Democratic party had an entry. Today is the prep day to set up tables and chairs at the fairgrounds for the annual fundraiser. Sunday is a day for canvassing, followed by the annual fund raising barbecue. The planning committee is bringing in a popular podcast creator from Missouri as the keynote speaker. While there will be mostly political positives this weekend, my participation is limited: I bought a ticket to the fundraiser yet won’t attend except to drop off 32 servings of dessert. That will be that.

I’m losing interest in local politics. Beginning in 2016 my precinct turned Republican. In addition, interest in Democratic politics is not what it was in 2004 when the electorate was fed up with President George W. Bush. The elections of 2006 and 2008 were glory days for local Democratic politics. We won our congressional seat and the presidency. Republicans began clawing back majorities in 2010 and today dominate the area. A constant barrage of conservative media has many voters tuning out of politics. I’m not, yet am at a loss of what I can do differently to turn the tide given the general lack of interest.

My plan is to finish my term as a central committee member, then relinquish the position to whomever shows up at the January 15 precinct caucus. We already carry one empty seat on the committee. Mine will make two as I have low expectations anyone will step up to the position. It is a thankless job.

It’s not that I’m uninterested in politics more generally. The disconnect is in the diminished role politics plays in daily conversations with friends and neighbors. There is plenty of work to be done just to live as a retiree. A person has to set priorities. Voting and staying informed about issues will remain a high priority. Canvassing for the party and attending central committee meetings and other party functions will not.

Our local weekly newspaper published its annual report this week. The Solon Economist presently distributes 640 copies per week. For a city of 3,000 with a surrounding population of another 10,000, that’s not a lot. It reflects the general loss of interest in civic affairs and the economics of competing with online information sources. The publisher wrote an article in which he suggested we contact our member of congress regarding HR4756 The Community News and Small Business Support Act which was introduced in Congress in July. I dutifully wrote a message to my congressperson raising awareness of the bill. As long as there is a local newspaper, I’ll continue to subscribe and try to help. It is an important part of our local community.

My turn from politics has been a long time coming. It is the last external commitment from which I turned since retiring. Instead, I’m focused on preparing the garden for winter. I hope to plant garlic next week and organize the hardware of cages, stakes and fencing for winter storage. We wrote a task list for the house and there is more to do than resources currently permit. That’s not unusual when we’ve lived here 30 years. I know what happened to the rest of my interests outside our home: life changed and politics changed along with it. I plan to accept the change and live life as best I can.