Your Best Here with Mona Bernhardt, LCSW
With local elections this week, it’s a great time to exercise our power and vote.
Voting on the national, or even state, level can sometimes seem very abstract. How does voting in those elections actually impact our day-to-day lives? Can be hard to track the effect of our votes at that level. The two political parties pitch their own rhetoric to vie for voters’ attention, which is ever waning as the divisiveness grows and ability to collaborate appears to be dying.
Locally is where our vote has the most power, where we can best see how our vote impacts our lives. And it’s much easier to engage in discussions with folks on the city council, school board or county commissioners’ court.
Something that I find very exciting, about addressing issues at the local level, is that very frequently the solutions are agreed on regardless of national party affiliation. Conservatives and liberals alike, at the local level, will frequently end up with the same conclusion for best next steps. I first came across this notion in a Beau of the Fifth Column podcast on YouTube. Looking back at the experiences working in different groups, it always seemed folks either agreed on the solution or appeared to have an easier time reconciling their differences when the issues are so close. This also seems to be the case at meetings I’ve been to in Olney, whether city council or other groups.
Very exciting to see so many people stepping up to run for local offices. One of the ways to optimize Your Best Here is to get involved in helping take care of our community in whatever way you feel called. “Follow your heart,” as they say. There are many ways to volunteer—running for office—or with the hospital, the school, your church—or taking steps to find solutions for a problem that you’d like to address. You don’t have to hold office to do good things for Olney.
Many people already volunteer here and enjoy the gratification of working with others to help Olney thrive.
Families work together throughout the school year on school and student organization events. People work together in their churches to support and help each other. Besides being gratifying, volunteering adds meaning to our lives which supports good mental health as well as supports a healthy, flourishing community.
You could always just start going to meetings open to the public and see where that takes you!
Encourage everyone to vote this week. Appreciate your support and your vote for city council, in support of Olney thriving!
All feedback welcome! Please feel free to email YourBestHereOlney@gmail. com. All feedback will remain confidential (unless limited by law). Mona Bernhardt, LCSW-S, grew up in Olney, is running for City Council and would like to team up with you for Olney’s best!