SCHivics 101

SCHivics 101

By Rafael Bergstrom, Executive Director, Sustainable Coastlines Hawai‘i

What is Civics? Civics has become an abstract subject in our society, or, perhaps, more appropriately named, civics is something that most people avoid because it sounds either burdensome, reserved for bureaucrats in an inaccessible building, or like a class we were supposed to take in high school.  What civics really is, is simply participation in the places we live, whether in your ahupua‘a or on this earth. Civics is both an action and a mindset, something many of us practice without even realizing it, and something far more accessible than we’ve been led to believe.

At Sustainable Coastlines Hawai‘i, our work has always been civic in nature. This Civic Circle exists to soften the boundaries and remove the friction that makes civic life feel reserved for someone else. Before I arrived at SCH and as I was just dipping my toes into my own civic power, I was on a journey to discover what could possibly make this seemingly boring topic feel exciting, cool, and attractive.  Inspired by a talk sent to me by a friend, way back in 2015, I tried to make Civics Sexy* again. But before we get there, we have to take a step back and talk briefly about what civics is not. 

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• Civics is not shouting at people from behind an internet curtain
• Civics is not complaining
• Civics is not absolutism, thinking that there is one way for everyone to act and be
• Civics is not individualism
• Civics is not selfishness
• Civics is not convenience

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This last point matters because while civics is accessible, it often requires stepping outside the culture of convenience that keeps us comfortably uninvolved. The concept of freedom has been corrupted by an ethos of individualism over community, pushing us farther and farther away from the interconnected species we are and must be to function in a healthy manner. 

Let’s get back to what civics is, because that is the purpose of this blog, to help you understand that we can all be engaged in our own ways. 

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• Civics is selflessness
• Civics is community
• Civics is learning who your legislators are, how to talk to them, how to testify on bills
• Civics is showing up at your neighborhood board meeting to advocate for a safer community for your children.
• Civics is growing your own food and then sharing it within or from one ahupua‘a to the next
• Civics is organizing a beach cleanup for 5 or 500 of your closest friends and neighbors
• Civics is joining a local board… PTA, condo association, parks committee, etc.
• Civics is hosting a dinner party where people can discuss their differences in a way that bridges them
• Civics is bringing your reusable containers, utensils, and cup with you wherever you go to reduce waste at the source
• Civics is composting your food waste, and teaching others in your community how to do so
• Civics is building a value-added business that treats its employees and the earth with the same respect you would want for yourself
• Civics is remembering that our way is not the only way
• Civics is an ongoing act that is built into our journey through life

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My hero and mentor from Citizen University, Eric Liu, in a TED Talk a decade ago, said: “We have to make civics sexy again—as sexy as it was during the Civil Rights Movement.” So, back to 2015. That year, with some friends and partners, we crafted a half-day workshop at Hawai‘i’s State Capitol to help people understand how the breakneck speed of the state legislature works in Hawai‘i and how to create both written and oral testimony. The event grew from 50 attendees to 300 over the years and I realized that many of us are just aching for a little nudge in the civic direction. Last year, the “Civics is Still Sexy” workshop came back to life under the care of our Sustainable Coastlines Hawai‘i team.  

Our workshop evolved beyond just testimony, to continue on the path of this blog, to first add more meaning to the concept of civics. Some say civics is just about the act of showing up as a member of a community. Eric Liu believes civics is about the teaching of power; not in a nefarious or threatening way, but with the intent for people to be more involved in knowing how and why things happen, and how to be involved in affecting change. I say yes—and that civics is about building a collaborative world of reciprocity. Civics is acting on our slogan that “Everyone Has a Coastline.” Reciprocity, pilina, and our slogan are all ways of saying that we are interconnected, and acting with that mindset recognizes our role as community members. It also gives us power. It gives us agency over our collective destiny. There are so many ways to start. Above, I’ve outlined different avenues of civic engagement that are not an exhaustive list, but a place where we can all get started – the challenge to you is to choose one to begin your civic journey, realize that maybe you are already doing many of them, and think about creative new ways that you can tell your own civic story.

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At SCH, we are here to help be a guide to civic action in the ways that we know how. You can expect our Civic Circle and Civics Is Sexy program to take many forms in the years ahead – from blog posts like this, social posts with testimony alerts, tutorial videos on how to navigate the online process, continued hands-in-the-sand activations for all to join, and a return of our Civics Is Sexy event at one of our Island Earth sessions this fall. We know that civics isn’t always the most convenient thing to participate in, but damn is it sexy when we do :)

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“Where are you already practicing civics without calling it that?” – send us your story at civics@sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org

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*Sexy (redefined): adjective; an attractive way of being, stemming from selflessness, participation, and collective care