Millennial Life: The Rules of Engagement

The table had their agenda placed in front of the empty seats. I had been led back to the room and left alone. I picked a seat without an agenda as I wasn't part of their organization, but my name on the paper caught my eye. I was listed as the only item on the agenda, as a special guest speaker. Well, I wish I had known that before I came in to have "a conversation."

The month before, the contact for the organization assumed that I'd be coming to their meeting the following day. Perplexed, I asked them if they had sent an invite. They had not. After a bit of back and forth, I closed our email volley with: Send me an invite for the next month, and I'll be there.

And here I was. After a few people had filed in, the organizer turned toward me. "We want to hear your priorities."

"OK, but ... can we do introductions first? Because I'd love to know who I'm talking to," I joked.

Maybe it is not the job of a guest speaker to become a facilitator, but at least we started with a conversation instead of an inquisition. Unfortunately, what struck me was the sense of antagonism, that they'd be "fighting me tooth and nail" on topics that would be against their priorities. "OK," I said, "I heard what you were against, but what exactly are you for?" They didn't have an answer.

"I'd like to start with collaboration, if possible," I said, and we found common ground in discussing zoning. As you do during meetings like this.

There's another theme I'm sensing in this weird city council job: People enjoy advocating against things without a real investigation of what they could advocate for, things that might actually include the beginnings of a solution.

For example, when I suggested to a business owner that an officer could come by to do a safety audit of their property, the owner said they didn't want to be told how to keep their area safe. Baffled, I asked them what their solution might be. They had none.

"More patrols?" I asked wearily. "Yes," they yelled.

For some, the emotion of the situation clouds forward movement. Some just want to yell at a person and transfer that terrible emotion that they are feeling away from themselves. However, to invoke change is more about having someone share your emotions and be invested in the change.

I understand the common viewpoint that elected officials should be at the forefront of creating solutions, but we work in tandem with those already actively working on the problems as they exist. And, crucially, it also takes input from those living in the community to engage with those who can suggest change.

In the past few weeks, I've told more than a few people to not lose faith in the process of change. I see myself trying to find a balance between not losing the public's engagement and not frustrating those who know "the rules," especially when I ask about the ways in which we might reconsider them. It's a wobbly perch.

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Cassie McClure is a writer, millennial, and unapologetic fan of the Oxford comma. She can be contacted at cassie@mcclurepublications.com. To find out more about Cassie McClure and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.