Love Your City
Recently, there was a protest in Utica to help bring attention to the injustices currently happening in Myanmar. While attending this protest, one of the organizers said something that struck me: “We can’t fight the military in Burma here in Utica, but we can love our neighbor.” We all want to change the world for the better, and the place we can do that most effectively is our backyard.
Since mainstream news sources have far more resources than local news sources, it’s a lot easier to keep up with national/international news than to keep up with local news. While it’s important to stay informed on the things going on in the world such as national elections, international conflicts, etc. it’s far more important to keep up with the things happening in your city. Local elections matter more than national ones because they’re closer to home, so they affect you more. Thus, your voice has a true say in the matter, without the taint of the electoral college. Your local representatives are your neighbors. They know you or want to know you, and they, theoretically, have your best interests in mind. It’s a lot easier to advocate for your neighbor, for the person you know living in your neighborhood, than it is for someone living in D.C. who has never heard your name to advocate for you. What’s happening in your city has a larger effect on you than what’s happening in D.C.
I’ve found it helpful to visit my city’s website every once in a while to catch any major updates, as well as following Utica on Instagram. Also, I attempt to find the local businesses that are heavily involved in the city. This makes it so much easier to know what is going on that affects me, and that I can potentially affect. It is so important to be informed of the general happenings of the city! If you’re a Utican like me, the Utica Phoenix is a great independent newspaper that’ll help you keep up to date with the latest and greatest.
After getting informed on the things happening in the city, get involved in building up the city! It’s so tempting to just be a negative citizen, complaining about all the problems of a place, especially if it’s your hometown. Fight the urge to speak poorly about your city, or be apathetic towards it. Your city has an incredible impact on you. There are so many things in your community that affect you such as the water in your city and the housing crisis in your city. All of it impacts you, whether directly or indirectly. We should do what we can to help our city flourish, as it affects us and the people around us a lot more than we realize! You can have hopes, dreams, even concrete plans to leave the city you live in now, but use the time you do have in the city to serve it to the best of your ability.
Image obtained from Squarespace
