(Host) In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, writer, educator and
commentator Susan Clark is struck by the extent to which many of the
best and first responders have been local.
(Clark) From Brooklyn
down to the Jersey Shore, Sandy has left its mark. But now, stories
abound of community groups shoveling sand out of living rooms, feeding
and housing the homeless, and arranging online help through listserves
and crowdfunding. Somehow, communities have married the best of
old-fashioned neighborliness to 21 st century networking — resulting in
a steady flow of local energy against a sea of devastation.
Federal
help is still critical. State and local governments can’t respond alone
to disasters of this scale. As c omedian Steven Colbert quipped
sarcastically, "Who better to respond to what’s going on inside its own
borders than the state whose infrastructure has just been swept out to
sea?"
But when physical infrastructure is swept away, it reveals
another layer of community: its civic infrastructure. And just as
storms have a way of revealing deferred maintenance on bridges and
levies, disasters also teach us the cost of neglecting civic
participation, neighborly communication, and a strong citizen
decision-making process – qualities that FEMA and the Red Cross simply
cannot replace.
Given that our world is likely to be threatened
by more Katrinas, Irenes, and Sandys, it’s time to appreciate not just
our federal government agencies, but our own, local, governance
abilities.
Community democratic structures that are inclusive,
deliberative, and empowered are a critical way to build trust and social
capital. And in turn, those constructive personal relationships
reinforce a functioning democracy. It’s an upward, virtuous spiral.
That’s why a key recommendation in many U.S. cities’ emergency
preparedness plans is that people get to know their neighbors. Social
capital saves lives.
Increasingly, communities understand that
the best investment against crisis is to strengthen citizen leadership.
Reliance on "experts," a leftover from the industrial revolution, is
giving way to decentralized, bottom-up strategies that reward innovation
and information sharing. Governments and citizens who collaborate,
working less like a hierarchy and more like a wiki, create more
responsive and resilient communities.
In recent decades,
"citizenship" has too often meant just being a consumer of policy, or a
spectator of political showmanship. But when we’re treated as
collaborative problem solvers, we show the value of local engagement.
Vermonters are accustomed to governing themselves with town meetings and
empowered school and town boards; and after Irene, Vermonters dove in
immediately to take responsibility.
Sandy is revealing similar
stories: at least at the local level, Americans haven’t lost the key
skills of leadership. Creative, collaborative decision making, leading
to well targeted action – these are the qualities we want in our
governments.
Government is not a "they" but a "we." And the
skills we gain by governing ourselves year-in and year-out are powerful
tools in a crisis. One of the most creative, low-cost ways to protect
against problems – be they meteorological, social, or even political –
is to empower community decision-making. We build community best by
working together, over time, on common issues – in other words, local,
sustained, slow democracy.