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This week, Texas Tribune founder Evan Smith interviewed The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward in a special live event in Austin. In the hour-long interview, they discussed a wide range of topics including the Watergate scandal; the current political environment; and the state of the media.
During the audience Q&A section, an audience member asked how Americans can work to preserve democracy and protect our election process. Without hesitation Woodward answered, “Put yourself in the center of it: don’t just be an observer. We’re all community organizers.”
Texas Impact staff members have spent the past few weeks fanning out across the state for meetings and presentations—and we’re seeing amazing examples of community organizers at work. From Hill Country residents leading disaster recovery, to faith leaders bearing witness at a Dallas immigrant detention facility, to Houston congregations mobilizing voters for the Nov. 4 constitutional election, and many more, Texans are using their expertise and resources to build community within their local contexts.
We also are hearing a lot of stories about how public policy is impacting Texans. It is so important that policymakers hear those stories! You might be experiencing hardship yourself, you might have family members or neighbors who are experiencing hardship, or it might be that you provide direct services and see firsthand what is happening to your clients. Whatever the case, sharing your experiences and perspectives is a generous and valuable act that contributes to better policy for the whole community.
Skeptical that policymakers really want to hear stories from constituents? In September of 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a letter to clergy across the country asking for exactly that. He wrote:
Your high calling brings you intimate daily contact not only with your own parishioners, but with people generally in your community. I am sure you see the problems of your people with wise and sympathetic understanding…I shall deem it a favor if you will write me about conditions in your community. Tell me where you feel our Government can better serve our people. We can solve our many problems, but no one man or single group can do it. We shall have to work together for the common end of better spiritual and material conditions for the American people.
Policymakers are one important audience for stories—and media are another. We learn from journalists like Smith and Woodward that seemingly unimportant or disconnected stories can lead to major policy changes when the right audience hears them.
Do you have a story about how current policies are impacting you or someone else, and need help figuring out who needs to hear it? Tell us about it and we’ll get you connected.
In the blog this week, Becca quotes Pope Leo’s recent speech on climate change, marking the 10th anniversary of the release of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical Laudato Sii. Pope Leo began his speech with the assertion, “If there are any heroes in all of this, it is all of you who are working together to make a difference.”
Through storytelling, direct service, group learning, and shared advocacy, Texas Impact’s network members are organizing their communities to work together for the common good. You are our heroes!
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