TAKE ACTION: A Year Of Local

November 24, 2013 0 Comments

A year with no Aljazeera

by David Ranew

At BeATLanta Take Action! I invite you to join me in 2014 as I tune out national news and focus exclusively on issues impacting the Atlanta region for one year. I will be exploring how to get the most out local news sources, get informed, get involved, and how you and I can Take Action!

What is your Take Action!?

The modern American does not have a complete and accurate understanding of issues.

College students unable to answer questions about the Holocaust.

It is not really our faults. The system has failed us right? Public Education lacks funding; we should do something about that, but who wants higher taxes? So, maybe it is the buildup of hormones and other chemicals in your body over time. But, maybe our bodies are just fine and it’s the Texas sized plastic island in the ocean.

Scientists Find “Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch”

The environment could sure use an ally. I bet you a poor kid with no one at home, in Atlanta, could use a Big Brother, Big Sister, or a tutor at the Boys and Girls Club.

One in Four Georgia Children Living in Poverty

So, what is important to you? Take Action! be anything!

What does local mean to you?

According the Pew Research Center over half of Americans watch the local news. A little less than half of us still read local print newspapers and 36% listen to the radio for our news. Even with all the future phones only a quarter of all Americans get their news from the internet. I mean, come on people, you have all the knowledge of humankind in your hand!

In other words, a sizable minority of Americans do not have clue about anything and most of us are tuned in paying attention. But, even though we watch local news, are exposed to region issues, and watch national issues we have lost what I like to call Hillary’s Village.

I recently joined an online neighborhood group for the BeATLanta House’s neighborhood of Reynoldstown. I had heard about this secret society at the 2013 Wheel Barrow Festival after inquiring about shirts and neighborhood branded flags. What I found was a group of my neighbors seemly collaborating for betterment of the place I was living in. This is what local is for me. Local is my neighborhood and my city. It is digging up my lawn and reclaiming empty lots to grow food it. Local is getting involved and supporting artists and business. It is all about leaving things better than they were before.

An unbiased nonpartisan year of local Take Action! is coming January 2014. Got ideas about how to get local or want to say what is important to you? Please comment below.