Local action

Several years ago, a good friend in North Carolina suggested during a phone conversation that I write a book on citizenship. At the time I was revising my first book, Political Visions and Illusions, whose second edition was released five years ago this month. I decided to take him up on his suggestion, submitting a proposal in the autumn of 2022 to InterVarsity Press. IVP accepted the proposal, and I signed a contract in January. I wrote steadily over the next months and had a more or less complete manuscript by late spring. Interviews with people featured in the book continued over the summer, and I submitted the final manuscript in September, 2023.

Readers of my earlier book have often asked me practical questions I had not addressed there. For example, how do I vote when both (or all) parties are tainted by the ideological illusions dominating our political discourse? More basically, how can I as a believing Christian properly discharge my responsibilities as a citizen in a way that glorifies God?

I have never published a work of fiction, of course. But I have heard tell that an author will create a character, who then runs away with the plot of the book as if she had a mind of her own. I experienced something of this phenomenon while writing Citizenship Without Illusions. As I was writing, I found myself focussing more than I had anticipated on local action. Why? With wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere, shouldn’t we be setting our sights overseas? The answer is yes, but it’s not the place to begin. Here St. Augustine offers wisdom: “Further, all men are to be loved equally. But since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”

As limited creatures placed by God in specific times and places, we owe our primary responsibilities to our immediate neighbours. At the moment, there is a huge homeless problem here in Hamilton exacerbated by poor mental health, substance abuse, and the dramatic rise in the cost of housing. Resolving this issue will take a coordinated effort among groups of concerned citizens. It will not be easy, but we are far more likely to see the fruit of our endeavours locally than if we aim the bulk of our activities at the national level or overseas. Indeed, we have a much greater chance of meeting with a mayor or city councillor than of meeting with a prime minister or member of parliament.

I hope and pray that my book will encourage readers to get involved in bettering their own communities as an expression of Christ’s love to their neighbours.