Russ's Ravings: Voting. The Greatest Social Movement

Editor's note: The following is Patch Field Editor Russ Crespolini's, hopefully, weekly column. It is reflective of his opinion alone.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made some pretty fascinating changes to our society over the past few months. One of the things we have seen is a change to our election cycle.

The primary election was moved to July 7 andthis year it will be "primarily" vote by mail. And here is a rare chance for us to push past the appearance of caring about progress.

I say appearance because that is what it is.

But truthfully most of it is slacktivism.

During the 2020 pandemic we are more interconnected on social media than ever before. There are very few Patch readers that are not on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Many of them are on private Facebook boards where they discuss things happening in town. Some of them are run by neighbors, some by business owners and some are even run by members of the media.

Have any of you wandered into a Facebook subgroup based off of your town? Maybe you've stumbled into one that focuses on your school district?

You'll notice there is a large propensity to use these sites to complain about public officials and start meaningless petitions. This sort of slacktivism is a problem. Because firing off an unfiltered opinion on social media has taken the place of providing thoughtful feedback in the real world. And that is what we need more of. People willing to do more than complain on social media.

Think about what you have experienced over the last few months. People posting trite images that serve as confirmation bias for their beliefs. Data pushers who believe they know better than everyone whose job it is to stem the COVID-19 outbreak criticizing shutdowns and politicizing data.

We see the same people who say that my daughter needs to go through a metal detector, should wear a bullet proof backpack and get used to "shelter-in-place" drills because that is the price of freedom. But being asked not to go to Applebees or wear a mask in a Walmart to protect public health is "tyranny."

And of course we have recently seen the much maligned protests that have spawned equal parts criticism and praise. Another thing they have done, is brought about an awakening and some real thoughtful changes to policy. They have prompted conversations and spurred action.

But they simply are not enough.

If we want to make a real, sustained change it has to be done through voting.

We are designed to be governed from the bottom up. We elect local representatives that reflect our views and our values from the municipal level through the state and federal level. We are not designed to work from the top down. Which is why these elections are so critical.

The vast majority of our taxes go to the school district, and in the primary those are not included, but it is never too early to start thinking about what issues most concern you. Board of Education candidates will join the general election at the end of July. But now you should be learning who supports your views in town.

What type of community police programs are in town? Do you believe social services should receive more funding? How about school safety and business recovery after COVID-19? Who has a plan, and who can you trust to pull it off?

Those are the kinds of questions I ask when I look at my local races. And they are the kind of questions you should be asking too. You should be reading candidate statements, letters to the editor, campaign web pages and coming to an informed decision on who represents your values. And once you do, rather than run to Facebook to tell everyone about it: vote!

The majority of the above can be found right here on Patch. As a company we sent out questionnaires to every candidate based off of the email address they registered with at the County Clerk's office.

If you don't see a candidate response, it is because they chose not to participate. So if you see radio silence from a candidate, that may give you insight as well.

But take the time to invest in this, and learn something for yourself without relying on crowdsourcing.

The right to vote is something we don't appreciate. Because you don't get "likes" by showing up to the polls, or this year, when you mail-in your ballot. So get informed, get out there, and cast your vote. You dishonor those who sacrificed so much for us to have this right if you don't.

And you do a disservice to yourself and your community when you aren't involved. It doesn't matter who you vote for or what your views are the important thing is that you educate yourself and vote your conscience.

Then you can go back to complaining about the parking or sharing photos of "suspicious" vehicles from your RING doorbell, checking out everyone who has an internet epidemiology degree and asking your neighbors to provide you information you could find in a Google search.

But take the time to participate. And then check back with Patch as we will tell you as soon as the results are available.

Russ Crespolini is a Field Editor for Patch Media, adjunct professor and college newspaper advisor. His columns have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the New Jersey Press Association.

He writes them in hopes of connecting with readers and engaging with them. And because it is cheaper than therapy. He can be reached at russ.crespolini@patch.com