Freedom Habit: Report
When we’ve Studied, Observed, Discussed, Acted, or even Prayed, we may wish to extend our usefulness and influence with this oft-neglected Freedom Habit: Report.
As a housekeeping matter, by the way, I would be inclined to attach Report posts to this Habit and to the Habit on which they report.
The Report samples in the links here are from my blog at LocalCommentary.com and range in length from long to very long, sometimes including audio and photos. But your Report to . . . whomever . . . could easily be short. Here are some samples from my own experience and my own imagination; it doesn’t matter which is which.
- Pray: I’ve been praying for Phredrika Phlintstone, my least favorite elected official. I still hate some of her policies, but there is less hatred in my heart for her, and that’s a good thing.
- Study: I’ve been reading Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower, and I discovered the most interesting thing. About half of the “Pilgrims” who came on the Mayflower were not part of the Pilgrims’ church. They were outsiders who had skills the new colony would need. Acknowledging this, the Pilgrims’ leader (who planned a later voyage but never made it to the New World) taught them that they would need to have a nonsectarian civil government, not a theological one, in deference to the diverse population. A good lesson for Utah, perhaps?
- Study/Discuss: I just finished Martin Olasky’s The Tragedy of American Compassion, and I think it’s very relevant to current issues. Who wants to borrow my copy first?
- Observe: I went to City Council for the discussion of the new facility the Planning Commission just approved in my neighborhood. A lot of us are against it, and the Council had some concerns. But ultimately they decided that there’s no law allowing them to disapprove construction which complies with existing law. They approved it.
- Observe: I watched the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today. I was struck by two things: how petty senators from both parties were, in their attempts to make speeches instead of asking questions, and how calmly and meticulously the nominee responded to the questions they did ask.
- Act: I went to help plant trees at the park this morning. About 30 volunteers were there. We worked for about two hours. There’s another similar project scheduled for next Saturday, after the rest of the trees arrive. Bring your shovel!
- Act/Discuss: I rode home from the convention with State Representative Ferd Krenz and told him how I think the state’s truth-in-taxation law is deliberately designed to strangle local governments and is having very ill effects. He listened to my thoughts, told me his own . . . and I don’t think either mind was changed. But we understand each other’s position better now.
Reporting spreads the word, encourages others to get involved, and helps us crystallize our own thoughts. It also helps to fill the inevitable gaps in reporting by newspapers and other media — but note that linking to media reports can help flesh out your reports, as well.
Numerous venues and media are possible: Facebook, Google+, even Twitter; e-mail or even e-mail lists; blogging or commenting on blogs; casual conversation over the back fence or at the neighborhood party; fliers distributed to the neighbors (please, please, please, don’t be anonymous or toxic!); or your organization’s newsletter.
If there’s interest, I’m willing to host some of this reporting right here, whether you and your focus are local to me or not, or to help find or create another place. Generally applicable things will be of greater interest, I suppose, but even for local matters, you’ll have at least have someplace to point links from Facebook, Twitter, or elsewhere. Inquiries are most welcome.
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