Civic engagement is easily the most popular term thrown around our
classroom, however if asked to give a proper definition of it off hand I
probably couldn't tell you. That is because civic engagement can't be
defined in a small sense, but needs to be thought about in a broader way for us
to fully understand it. This class sets out to tackle the task of finding out
what constitutes civic engagement and from early on we observed Adler and
Groggin's definition that "civic engagement describes how an active
citizen participates in the life of a community in order to improve conditions
for others or to help their community's fture." While exploring the world
of service the first step to understanding civic engagement is to understand what
activities constitute as "improving conditions for others" and the
broad view that must be taken into account to "help their community's
future."
Through articles and discussions in class
we have set out to uncover what service truly is, which opens the door to how
we think about our service. However, since just completing the memoir project last week I think that this is the most relevant tool that is shaping
my views of engagement at the moment. For this assignment I read Gregory
Boyle's memoir Tattoo's on the
Heart, which opened a whole new light on what kinds of service there are
out there. Prior to reading this novel I had very little knowledge on
gang life or what prevention services that have been put into effect or if any were
even implemented at all. I think this is one of the main factors that
influenced why I found Boyle so compelling, because through his work I was
learning things I had never known before. Boyle sets out on a mission to help
former gang members leave their previous life and start over by providing jobs
and hope through his relationship with god and strong Jesuit views. As
someone with a different religious background it was interesting to me to see a different side of service by what motivates us to want to help people. By
creating a common ground between himself and the gang members, Boyle is able
to reach out to them in ways that many people probably couldn't, because let's
face it if you were given the chance would you choose to help gang members?
Would you put yourself in a dangerous situation involving dangerous people for
the cause you cared about? I think that is something we all need to think about
when we are giving back. Is what we are trying to help actually something
we care about or are we doing it for alternative motives?
From the teachings of Boyle I have
realized that I don't truly know what my passion is yet and until then I can't
try to "save the world." I hope that one day I find that one thing
that I find most important, because through the work of Boyle I have realized
that wanting to help out (like I do within the community) and wanting to change
something you truly care about are two different things. An interesting question to consider is that if you would rather participate fully and
completely to a cause you love or if helping here and there is enough? I
guess it just comes down to what you believe is valuable about service.
Are you doing service to make yourself feel good or do you genuinely
care about what you are doing and the people you are helping? Is participating
in something we aren't passionate about as valuable as something we are more
emotional about. Consider the scenario that you love dogs and have the
choice to either help out at a local animal shelter working with dogs once a week
for an hour or become the founder a large successful organization to save dolphins that
will prevent any dolphins from being harmed by fisherman or human pollution in the
ocean (super realistic, just pretend). From your love of dogs you clearly
care about animals in general, so would you choose to work minimally at the
shelter or change the world in a larger way? I still don't know
everything about what civic engagement entails, but through the discussions in
class and the work of Gregory Boyle I have learned that I believe service
isn't about the overall outcome being perfect, but if you have changed
something in a positive way, even if in the smallest way you have done enough.
I agree that there is no exact break down of the meaning of Civic Engagement. Civic engagement is just the different ways an individual believes he/she can make a difference. However, I disagree on your idea that you have to have a passion to help "save the world" in fact, you don't have to save the world at all! I believe that the term "save the world" is over whelming to some people and although it is accomplishable by the individual, it usually means making a difference on a large scale. The Individual does not need to "save" but "change" and change is put forth by a eagerness to help out and an enjoyment of doing what you have done.
ReplyDeleteJen,As you said, if one really loves dogs then one would most likely care
ReplyDeleteand have a passion for all animals. If the choice was up to me, I
would choose the dolphins, because one will be helping out more
dolphins then dogs. In terms of helping in society one needs to look at
where they will make the biggest impact on life. Given the question
with helping the dogs once a week or save every dolphin it is easy
answer. This question should not even be debated. When making a
decision for the greater good the question should be asked am I
helping others enough to benefit the community where I will be making
an impact? If this is the case, the time I spend on the cause will not matter. For
example, a person tutors kids for free once a week. The tutor knows
that every kid he tutors will do well in school. But if the tutor
tutors more kids then it is going to give the tutor less time for his
work. So what should the tutor do?
I dont agree that finding a passion is a necessity in truly wanting to make a difference. I think that if you are passionate for leaving a positive mark on the world then that is enough. You should be willing to help out with whatever will make the most impact. Time is another factor and it really depends on how much of your own life you want to devote to others. If you devote too much time from your own life to help others, then your own happiness might suffer. If you don't put in enough time to actually make a difference what was the point other than to feel good about yourself. It all depends on what type of work that you are doing and how much change you actually want to make. It could take my entire life to make reform in the government to help out the entire class of people below the poverty line or I can spend one day and help one person in poverty.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that in civic engagement if you have made some sort of positive difference then it is enough, but I don't think one should ever settle for some difference. If we are really change makers and we really do want to make a difference within our community then it is never ok to settle with just one small difference. Our work is never done and we should always be striving to make the future better.
“Would you put yourself in a dangerous situation involving dangerous people for the cause you cared about.”
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would consider doing so. Doctors Without Boarders puts a person in contact with sick people, which is potentially more dangerous than working with violent people since disease can overtake your whole system, whereas a stab wound can be easily healed. Saving lives with science is something I’m passionate about, as I am a Biology major. In Tattoos on the Heart, Boyle worked with gang members, and if I were to work with gang members, I would make sure they were heavily searched for weapons before meeting with them. Bare hands alone cannot cause much damage, whereas pathogens can. The only exception would be if the violent person has a deadly disease and our blood were to mix in a fight.
If I were to take my time and dedicate my life to helping others, it would be because I wish to help others, and not for an alternative motive. If I take the time to study biology and go to Medical School to learn how to perform surgery, it would be because I actually care about lives. I would be a plastic surgeon if I cared about money. Becoming familiar with science and practicing medicine takes so much time and effort that dedicating one’s life to it is often the only option. With the animal example, I am already on a medical path so I would be a veterinarian. I am already on track to becoming a medical professional. Volunteering in shelters is something I would consider in my free time as well.
Jen,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that with civic engagement any small difference you make, or action you take can be extremely important. Making a difference is important and when it comes down to it making any difference no matter what how impactful is better than making no difference at all. On the other hand though I do think that it’s important especially when talking about civic engagement and volunteering that you do work in the field where you can do the best work. I feel like in life that will usually overlap like in a example we saw in class where you are a lawyer it would be the most helpful for you to give law advice, rather than help serve food, assuming you weren’t forced into that job that would ideally be were most passionate. When it comes down to it I feel like if I was in a situation where I could go to a soup kitchen and volunteer to chop vegetables (sounds boring but I love chopping vegetables) or push myself to go bigger and help end hunger in general I think I would push myself to make the big difference. I think it all just connects back to the idea of fixing the leak in the sink rather than cleaning up the mess it makes. In an ideal world both would overlap allowing you to make a big change while also following your passion, but another option would be to do both. Why not work to save the dolphins, and also volunteer once a week at the animal shelter?