JackFromWisconsin

Why aren't younger people served by the local political process? If you're a younger person, or maybe you know one, ask them what their city council does. Do you know? You really should. The United States' federal system means that the most consequential decisions for you are actually made on a local level vs. the national level. What your city council decides can have a bigger impact on your day-to-day life than what the U.S. Congress does or doesn't do. Yet, of the political attention, it is mostly directed towards the national level. If you're lucky, you might get a little bit of focus on state-level politics. Why is this the case and is there anything we can do about it? I am one of the few members of Gen Z who  can  tell you what my city council decided last week. Right now they are discussing pedestrian v. vehicle collisions and what they can do to fix that. How do I know that? Well, like nearly all cities in the United States, they publish their meeting agend...

What does a democracy need in order to be stable? Democracies across all of time have all encountered issues and, in many cases, failed in one way or another. One particularly damaging force is violence. You might think this is just a sophomoric interpretation, but violence is at the root cause of many destablising societal problems. It is often overlooked or dismissed until its in your face as the cause of numerous societal problems. Violence makes a society feel less safe, can make further violence feel more acceptable, and can erode democratic institutions.  Violence makes societies less safe. Everyone understands this on a basic level, but lets consider the further implications of this. To use an negative example, the city I grew up in had very little crime, never had a school shooting, and overall had a good atmosphere. I never felt unsafe walking outside or even leaving my house unlocked. I recently met a friend who comes from Milwaukee. And their experiences are the complete...