Growing Greenup
Becoming an Informed Citizen Part 1 of 2
Authored by Laura Stephenson, Mercedes Fraser, and Rick Sellnow, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky
Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Americans have celebrated democracy. The growth and development of our country is backed and guided by the process of citizen involvement and interest. As we look at the world stage and watch other countries employ news blackouts and restrictions to keep their people unaware and controlled, we celebrate the benefit of our first amendment rights to freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly.
Rather than taking these rights for granted, our responsibility as informed citizens is to understand and become involved in the issues facing our leaders at local, state, and national levels. Outlined here are three steps to becoming and remaining an informed citizen: Be engaged, be curious, and be perceptive.
Be Engaged
The community in which you live offers many chances for your involvement, whether through civic groups, faith-based organizations, charitable activities, organized sports, public meetings, special interest groups, or local school activities. The more active and engaged people are in their communities, the more interaction occurs and the more relationships develop. The value of this interaction has been called “social capital.” The term stresses the worth of strong social networks to the well-being of local citizens.
Social capital is measured by the associations among people; these connections encourage trust and commitment. Communities that have strong relationships and interaction among citizens show higher levels of social capital than those that have weak social networks. Relationships that bridge many groups are more beneficial to the community and civic involvement than relationships among a small group of people. In fact, a broader network among many people and groups is one predictor of lower crime rates, better health, and higher learning.
To be an informed and effective citizen, become engaged in local organizations and interest groups to build relationships and bonds within the community. Membership in several groups within the community can connect you with different points of view. Sharing ideas with each other will help to identify and build upon common interests.
Be Curious
With access to internet and print resources, we can rapidly link to our neighbor down the street or an Australian family living in Sydney. Our local news media reaches us with rapid reporting. Local governments and organizations are now able to livestream community meetings and programs. We have the world available at a moment’s notice. At no other time have we been able to immediately find so many answers, viewpoints, and ideas. It is important to be curious about our community and our world. Because we are a rapidly changing planet, learning about each other and forming relationships and networks broader than just our neighborhood can help us to be better-informed local and national citizens.
Each morning Joan starts her day with coffee and the news. In the past twenty-five years, this habit has not changed but how she accesses the news has. No longer does the paperboy deliver the paper daily to her house, nor does she solely rely on regularly scheduled radio or television news. Instead, each morning she turns to the Internet for the latest news and world events. She has an alert set on her phone to bring her up-to-the-minute links to local, national, and world news.
The generation we are born in may affect our preferences for how we get information. For example, people born before the rise of the internet may prefer print sources, such as a newspaper or an educational publication. A reputable print source is one known for publishing accurate and verified information and has some sort of editorial oversight. However, some of the print sources that have been seen as reliable or up to date in the past, may no longer be as reliable as staffing shortages limit their ability to research stories in depth and competing with the speed of social media limits their ability to edit and review.
There are many ways to find answers to our questions in our communities: reading local governmental reports, attending town meetings, listening to local radio, keeping up with organizations online, and watching area cable shows. Taking time to listen and read about current events is an important step in becoming an informed citizen. This step includes understanding issues that are of present concern to policymakers.
Within the Commonwealth there are organizations that provide information about state policy issues, committees, trends, and policy decisions. The Kentucky State Data Center (KSDC) provides state, county, and city information from data obtained through many resources including:
• U.S. Census
• Kentucky Vital Statistics
• Kentucky Department of Education
The State Data Center offers online access to reports, publications, and trend reports for the state. The Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (LRC) is another service agency of state government that keeps the public informed on state legislative decisions and discussions. Through this agency Kentuckians can learn about committee reports, pre-filed bills, legislative action, and legislator contact information. The LRC issues publications, reports, and news releases on legislative action of interest to the public and policymakers.
University of Kentucky resources that show data trends useful to community leaders include County Data Profiles, assembled by Blueprint Kentucky, and Kentucky by the Numbers, a resource for those looking for reliable data about their Kentucky county. An important key to being an informed citizen is to take time to read many different sources of information to build an understanding of the issues close to home as well as in our global community.
Take a moment to make a list of the sources of information you access to keep yourself informed. Circle the ones you rely on daily. Check those you feel provide accurate information. Place a star beside those that may be less accurate. What clues did you use to decide whether the information was accurate? You can also complete this activity by observing the apps on your phone. Are there any news sources? Are there social media platforms? Which provides more accurate information?
Be Perceptive
We can soon become weighed down with information about not only local events, activities, and issues but also national news, gossip, and opinions. How do we know what to believe in order to be an informed citizen? The key is to be perceptive in identifying reliable information. Perception is knowing and understanding.
• Who is the author?
• Where was the article published?
• Why was the article written?
• What data are they using?
• How much data did they gather?
• When was the article published?
Please return to this column next week for part 2 of 2 in this series: Becoming An Informed Citizen. Contact Anne Stephens for a link or hard copy of this entire publication with full list of references.
For more information, contact Anne Stephens, Agent for Community Arts and Development in Greenup County. 606.836.0201 anne.stephens@uky.edu 35 Wurtland Avenue, Wurtland, KY 41144 The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function without regard to economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, physical or mental disability or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kentucky counties, cooperating.
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