Local focus has never been more important

Local governments, people, and infrastructure are more important as American politics are nationalized.

Screenshot fayettecounty.wv.gov

It is inarguable that politics in America are nationalized. The rise of mass media and network news, followed by the smartphone revolution and social media explosion, was inevitably going to lead to interconnectivity. News media needing the biggest audience possible naturally focuses on issues of wide-spread importance to the most people possible. The downside to this change is those national headlines and narratives take up bandwidth that needs to be spent locally.

While not as “television sexy” or internet-trendy as whatever wacky thing Washington is up to on any given day, local government still matters. A lot. City councils and county commissions make decisions that directly affect many aspects of life for the citizens they are charged with overseeing.

At the last census, there are over 89,000 government units functioning in the United States today, doing the vital work that keeps communities going. Though virtually all the work of these local governments are public record, the pincer movement of a decline in local reporting and the nationalization of news media means far too many folks are unaware what the lowest levels of government are supposed to do, are doing, or should be doing right where they live.

The audience that is America seemingly focuses on yelling at their screens about things far away while citizen America neglects what’s going on in their own communities.

But there are those vital folks who do keep the wide base of America’s representative government going. Not just those who run for and hold office, but also the employees, staff, and regular citizens who participate, cajole, and support local government. While meetings of city councils and county commissions are full of routine matters, lots of government and legal jargon, and unevenly applied Robert’s Rules of Order, the occasional hot button issue does fill up the seats with people wanting to be heard. As we’ve seen during things like Covid, an angry and frustrated public has no trouble finding local leaders when upset.