Why I Stopped Doomscrolling and Started Showing Up

Lately, it feels like the world is on fire and I do not have a fire extinguisher.

Every time I catch the news or scroll through my feed, there’s another crisis, another debate, another shooting, another reason to feel overwhelmed. It’s exhausting. But here’s the thing I’ve realized: when everything feels too big and too loud, the smartest move I can make for my own sense of stability is to look closer to home.

Local politics might not be flashy and it certainly isn't easy. There aren’t internet pundits dissecting our town’s budget meetings or our school committee votes. But those decisions are the ones that shape our actual lives and determine the kind of community we want to wake up to every single day and shape for the future. The cost of housing. The safety of your streets. The programs in our kids’ schools. Whether our town's police will capitulate to ICE kidnappings.

And here’s the best part for me and my heart — at the local level, our voices can have an immediate and visible impact. And at this moment in time, I personally need that kind of win. When we show up to a Select Board meeting, people notice. When we write an email to a committee chair, someone actually reads it. When we help organize a Welcome to Williamstown event (at the Library on September 18th!) with other like minded neighbors we create care in our community. Unlike the national stage that can feel so overwhelming, our local community is small enough that we can see the impact of our engagement.

That’s part of the reason we created Civics Corner—to help bridge that gap between caring and acting. For me, I realized that just complaining about not knowing what was happening—wondering how decisions were made or why I hadn’t heard about an important vote—felt pointless (and whinny). We want to be an accessible hub (since the tools we were finding weren't) for knowing when town meetings are happening, who to reach out to, how committees work, and what issues are on the table. Engagement—no matter how small—beats feeling powerless or just talking about the problems without stepping in to help make a change. At the end of the day, it’s always better to channel frustration or fear into action than to sit on the sidelines.

Platforms and pundits I like and follow talk a lot about getting involved and “community power,” and that really resonates with me. Real change often starts close to home — with neighbors talking to neighbors, sharing ideas, and finding ways to get involved that feel authentic and doable. We built Civics Corner with that same spirit: not to push anyone in a particular direction, but to create a space where staying informed is easier and where participation feels possible.

When we started this it wasn’t because we thought we had all the answers — quite the opposite. It was because we kept finding ourselves asking the same questions: When is that meeting? Who do I even talk to about this issue? How do decisions actually get made in our town? What we've been discovering along the way is that getting clear, accessible information is the first step toward feeling connected — and that connection is what builds stronger, more resilient communities.

For me, it’s not about fixing everything at once (though wouldn’t that be great?) or cramming one more commitment into an already packed schedule. It’s about finding clarity in the chaos and the calm that comes from narrowing my focus. Because while the national headlines can feel overwhelming and out of reach, our local community is a space where my attention and care can actually create change I can see.

Ideas how you too can stop doomscrolling and get involved:

• Serve! The Williamstown website has a page where you can learn what committees have openings and are looking for involvement. https://williamstownma.gov/vacancies/
• Come to the Welcome to Williamstown event at the Library on September 18th.
• Make your voice heard by making FIVE CALLS this week. Learn more on their website 5calls.org
• If you want to get involved with Civics Corner we would love people who are interested in reporting back on some of the meetings we can't attend.
• Sign up for the Williamstown League of Women Voters Williamstown Citizen's Academy when they start up back in the fall. Info will be available at the Library.