America, the owner's manual

I picked this instructional guide to citizen engagement up at the last Florida Democratic State Convention where the author, former Governor Bob Graham, was a speaker. I bought it, and another book by the former Florida Governor, motivated primarily by the novelty of getting it signed. However, when I sat down, cracked open the small paperback guide and began to read, I was quite pleased.

I’ve read other how to guides on citizen engagement, running campaigns and the like but this is the first one that’s kept me genuinely interested. Each chapter starts with a real life example of the principals about to be explained, which provides some interesting reading to break up the textbook monotony of suggestions and statistics common in these types of guides and helps to drive home the importance of the concepts about to be presented.

Graham asks the reader, early in the book, to pick an issue in their community they would like to solve. At the end of every chapter he offers an exercise that uses the chapter’s information to further the readers progress in solving their issues. This structured, hands on approach came from the former state legislator’s experience helping teach civics at a Florida school, a challenge he accepted from a teacher after he criticized civics education in his state.

The book covers, chapter by chapter, all the most important aspects of civic engagement; from proper research, to engaging the press, building coalitions and raising money.

He pays particular attention early on to understanding your government and which agencies or politicians can actually address your issue. He tells a story of a group of teenagers who came to him with a complaint about the quality of the school’s pizza at lunch. They had asked everyone for help, except the school administration that could actually make the changes they asked. As someone who’s listened to countless citizens speak at public meetings about issues completely unrelated to the people they’re addressing, I’m happy to see this spelled out so clearly and with such emphasis.

I recommend this book highly to anyone interested in being engaged with their government. Whether you’re new to the world of civics and activism or a political veteran looking to refocus on the basics I recommend this book. It’s an easy read and the real life examples keep things interesting. The information it provides is invaluable to navigating the complex and often confusing world of government and public opinion.