Why is being civically engaged so important? What can be done to get more people to participate in the communities?
Civic engagement is not only beneficial to the well-being of the community that one belongs in, but is also a huge positive impact on the mental well-being of the individual who is engaging in civil issues. In order to come up with the former conclusion, researchers went back to Aristotle’s philosophy on pleasure, which Aristotle specifically defines and categorizes as eudaimonia (more abstract pleasure) and hedonia (physical pleasure). Researchers found that well-being is constituted of many forms of civic engagement. Social interest, which is self explanatory, is one example. Moreover, the research has found generativity, which is the desire to care about something bigger than yourself and the desire to give to future generations, as well as volunteering and activism are among the forms of civic engagement that highly impacts one’s well being positively.
We all know the classic mid-life crisis. Although it would be wrong to generalize the cause of all mid-life crisis, I believe that a major cause comes from the lack of civic engagement. All our lives, we are taught to think about ourselves first. Our parents teach us how to be successful in our professional and romantic lives. We are bombarded with materialistic ambitions and goals that make life entertaining and exciting, almost like a game. Once we reach an age where we cannot find any other superficial goals, we lose meaning, which is one of the most important components of well-being. People who are civically engaged always have a mission to work on. They are working on something bigger than themselves and the purpose of providing a better world for yourself and future generations is one that will never die. Civic engagement brings a greater meaning to life that prevents the mid-life crisis, I think.
This is quite ironic, but I think that in order to promote engagement in communities, we must advertise the personal benefits of being an activist. It does not romanticize activism because it is an approach that accepts the inherent selfishness in people. However, I fervently believe that it will be immensely effective. A good example for how movements become more successful when they target the well-being of people is the vegan/vegetarian movement. Right now, the number of people who mostly eat plant-based diets are rapidly increasing. Is it because people are more ethically developed and care about animals? No. It is because there has been more research done regarding these diets. And the health benefits of plant-based diets are becoming popular. Does this still serve the animals? Yes. People might not be motivated to eat vegan because of animal rights, but they are still contributing to the movement. People choose a vegan lifestyle for their well-being and in turn help the animals. Most people who are lured into veganism through motives of better health become more aware of the unethical treatment of animals and choose to stick with the lifestyle for ethical and environmental reasons as well. With civic engagement, organizations should promote the mental health benefits of having social interest, volunteering, activism, and generativity, in order to introduce this lifestyle to people. Once people are in it for themselves, they will keep at it for the common good because they will be more aware.
