Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.
Citizen Tip = Study "Century of Self" for answers about today's self-involved voter.
Ten years ago the BBC won awards with its four part series, The Century of Self. Fair warning, this isn't a 25 words or less answer to today's electoral disfunctions. There is history that is vital to understand before we can adequately explain what is going on today. Each part is one hour long. Think bigger than local and longer than your lifetime for a bit. This takes some time, but it is worth it. How did we get to this place of self above all else? How did greed take over? Sikp around if you must, but please focus on the last 20 minutes of part four at absolute minimum.
Part 1: Happiness Machines
Part 2: The Engineering of Consent
Part 3: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed
Part 4: Eight People Sipping Wine In Kettering
Ten years later and extensively British in context, this is a deeply researched, higher education course in today's electorate. From democracy's charge of making every person's path open to freedom, liberty and happiness we devolve into every man for himself (oh, and may the women, minorities, disabled and all the mixtures of these simply disappear).
