You too can rule the world

What caught her attention was something under my to-do column.

She showed me a few screenshots from the conversation.

With the picture, she had written, “I think my dad is up to something.”

The picture was centered over the to-do list where the No. 1 item was, “rule the world.”

I am not that ambitious.

I don’t want to rule anything. At this point, the only person I’m confident will follow me is my dog. And he is not too discriminating.

I do know how to rule the world. Or, at least, I know the first few steps for ruling the world.

Step one is pay attention.

This may sound self-serving, but a good place to start is reading newspapers.

Step two is participate.

That is one of the reasons that this publication lists town and village meetings in its calendar. It has never been easier to attend a meeting. Most you can do from home over your computer or phone. It takes a little while to catch on to what is going on, but after a few meetings it all starts to make sense.

Step three is speak up.

Write a letter to the editor (tgraser@wdt.net). Talk to your friends. Talk at a meeting. There is always a time for public comments, sometimes two. You can raise objections, ask for help with a project, point out a problem or any number of things.

Sometimes your time is limited to three or five minutes, but if you stay on topic, you can generally talk a little longer than that. Practice what you are going to say and bring notes, or write it all out and read it.

Recently, a group of residents attended a town council meeting in Canton and objected to a proposed law. They knew what they were talking about. They were passionate and polite and the board listened. I would not be surprised to learn that board members later contacted the speakers for more input or for alternative ideas.

Back in my days in Ohio, I was in a group that organized people to attend a state transportation department design meeting about a highly traveled road in our community. It was a horrible road that needed design work desperately. The initial design had no accommodation for cyclists or pedestrians. After the designers heard from 20 or so people asking about bike lanes and sidewalks, the design changed. Those 20 people were in a city of 30,000 and they swayed a state department.

If you don’t like what you see, you can make a difference.

You might not be able to rule the world, but you can change your community by doing just a few simple things.

If you do intend to rule the world, do not write “rule the world” on your whiteboard to-do list, even if it is just a reminder to write this column.

Tom Graser is the editor of the St. Lawrence Plaindealer. His dog, Desi, spends too much time sleeping to be useful in any world domination plans.