Blog
Transitioning from a National Mindset to a Local One
October 20, 2010
With the end of mid-term election season quickly approaching, nearly every poll, blog post, and even MSM news story has come to a similar conclusion: at least one house in Congress (and possibly both) is almost guaranteed to flip from one party to another. And on a larger scale conservative and center/right candidates should also make rather significant gains in statehouses and governorships from sea to shining sea.
Frankly, much good will hopefully come out of this election cycle.
But is our work done on November 2nd? Have we truly changed our country after the election results are all tallied? Are we to sit back and simply revel in what we have done before focusing on 2012?
The answer to each of these questions is clearly NO. The unavoidable truth is that there is MUCH more work to be done.
However, I don’t mean just on a national scale – I mean in our own backyards.
The state I live in, Oklahoma, does something very interesting each fall when people are thinking about holiday plans, the end of the school semester, and anything other than politics: they have school board candidates in every district across the state file to run for office…during the first Monday through Wednesday in December.
Yep, if you want to run for school board in Oklahoma, you have to file at the most random time possible.
What this also means is that a month after the election season finally “ends” for 2010, a new one starts right back up. And most people don’t even know it.
In fact, a majority of people probably have no clue that people are filing for an office that directly impacts their kids and their communities in some very dramatic ways. And it is only natural that if they don’t know about school board filings, they surely do not know about the school board elections.
And we wonder why school board elections on the second Tuesday in February across Oklahoma typically see voter turnout anywhere between 3%-5% in each community.
Thus, for many school board candidates ignorance is bliss at the ballot box.
But so what? Who cares about school boards anyway? You should. Why?
Because think about this:
The President of the United States chooses and thus advises the Secretary of Education, who heads the Education Department. The Education Department is pressured by the National Education Association (a powerful and liberal teachers union) in a variety of ways to impact education legislation in Congress. Then the same issues being pushed by the NEA at the national level are then also pushed by local chapters – the Oklahoma Education Association in my home state – who also lobby and look to persuade state legislators, the state Department of Education, school administrators, and school board members about issues they deem important. In turn, the state Department of Education and state legislature then set guidelines and mandates for school district administrators and school board members across the state who in turn pass them on directly to the teachers who spend 8 hours a day inside the classroom with our children.
Thus, our last line of defense in this chain of national impact at the local level in education are school board members who are willing to stand up and fight for fiscal responsibility, authentic educational accountability, school choice, unbiased teaching materials, and unheeded transparency within the education system.
So, sure, it is great that the House is going to change hands in a few weeks, and I am excited as anyone to see folks from across the country stand up in defense of our freedom and liberty over the coming years.
But if you really want to impact your community and the future of your kids, don’t stop after November. Don’t allow your natural inclination to rest and relax after your victory so that you lose sight of your local community. Don’t let the strides we have made on the national level get overlooked at the local level – especially with school boards. Don’t cease working to save and change the country you love so much.
The time is coming to transition from a national mindset to a local one. The time is coming for conservatives to run for these local and vitally important offices or energetically support those who do run. The time is coming to get off the sidelines in local elections just like we have in the national ones.
Simply put, the time is coming when we will continue to work for freedom and liberty in our local educational systems.
Seth Brown, everyone at American Majority, and my fellow American citizens:
Seth makes an excellent point regarding one reason that local and state elections are as important as – if not even more so than – federal elections. I would like to add yet another reason, perhaps even more compelling: state nullification of unconstitutional federal laws.
Nullification is the last bulwark of the people against federal over-reach, and together with a handful of corresponding measures, it constitutes a viable, legal, non-violent remedy for the problems at hand.
It doesn’t matter who we put in Congress, who sits behind the desk in the Oval Office, or what federal judges may make appointment… the simple fact of the matter is that we cannot expect D.C to reign-in D.C. We cannot reasonably expect for the Washington machine to allow any of its constituent parts – namely, elected federal officials – to pare back its power and influence, or to otherwise jeopardize its superiority to and rule over the states and the people of this country. It simply will not happen, no matter how good the intentions of any elected federal politician. Whatever victories we may be able to celebrate emanating from the Hill, they will count for little more than “tinkering around the edges,” and that is simply not enough.
Therefore, I urge us all to shift our focus of attention to the state and local level; to get to know state and local politicians and candidates, and to vote for those who are most keen on individual freedom and sound money, and who have the guts to do what it takes to stand up to the federal government and say, “Enough! This will not stand in our state!” I urge those of you who feel this way, and wish to make a direct contribution, to run for elected office yourselves. But above all, I urge you all to read up on nullification, learn its methodology and its history, and finally, spread the word. Talk about it to everyone you can; the only way that it can work as a tool in the struggle against tyranny is for enough people to know it, and to demand it of their state representatives. Lacking this popular support and understanding, it will never find willing champions in the state houses, and it’s precisely those willing champions at the state level that are, in fact, the front-line soldiers in this fight… for the same reason that school board members are the front-line soldiers in the political fight for our children’s education.
Thanks, and best regards all! Pro Respublica!
-Milo Townsend
I had always been focused on national politics, believing that it had the greatest impact on life and liberty. Then I bought a house. After attending a few local council meetings I learned that the municipal, county and state level of government had a far greater affect on my life than anything else. (Side note: The Federal Govt still takes significantly more of my income than state and local governments.)
However, regarding school boards and municipal councils, I have a question that I’m hoping someone can provide some helpful input. I’ve learned that more often than not the town council and school board are burdened with onerous state mandates that increase costs – very often their hands are tied. Worse yet, many times these cookie cutter requirements do not fit the needs of our community, but cost us significant amounts of money. These mandates usually require hiring staff (which is the most expensive portion of a budget), and often that staff’s only function is to complete reports for the state of how compliant the town is being with the State’s new requirement! What a waste! Often these state mandates smell strongly of a lobbying group/special interest, who pushed for a regulation that would benefit them financially.
My question is this: How does being on a local school board or municipal council enable an individual to effect change when their hands are tied? What would be practical actions a person in this position could take? Should my board and council be throwing their hands up and whining, “It’s not our fault!” or is there something that they could actually be doing on a state level to address these wasteful state mandates?
(Another side note: When the school board and town council complain about “unfunded” state mandates they forget something – the funded mandates are still funded by someone: ME!)