That statement should be self evident. We elect representatives to do the business of government. No one sane hires people so they can just interview for the same job over and over again. Okay, so that does bring the sanity of the United States into question but our less than stellar election behavior aside, we hire these guys to do something. We pay them WAY more than they are worth to do something important. We have an incredible interest in that something – because government is how we run this country.

So why on Earth do we treat government as if it were plug and play then turn around and wonder why everything gets messed up? We know the answer – we’re kinda lazy about the whole politics thing.

True but only in part. Despite all our complaints to the contrary, our real issue is that we’re scared of the thing. It’s big. It’s complicated. It has WAY too many moving parts. It’s dangerous. Mostly, it’s a gigantic mess and we are too scared to even think about how to clean it up.

Government is America’s garage. We need it. We want it to be all spiffy and useful. But we don’t want to clean up the disaster area it’s become. And really, where do you even start? That darn lawn mower is always in the way and we hung the bikes on the ceiling last time – but now we have no idea how to get them down. And it’s easier to just go watch TV and hope the garage fairy cleans it up for us.

Yeah, hasn’t worked for the garage either, has it?

Hiring the neighborhood kids was a great idea. Someday we’ll fix garage door and the drywall they messed up. Hey, we had a path to the laundry room for a few weeks anyway!

Government is no different: some jobs you just have to do yourself. And we also have to face the truths we don’t like. Our representative is part of the problem when we just hire him to bring home the gravy and not to deal with the actual problems. Some of our fixes made things worse. Some things government cannot do. Some things government does well. We are the ones that have to sort that all out.

It’s our government, after all.

So, where to start? First off, decide what you want. No sense pulling everything out when you don’t even know why you’re doing it. Second, roll up the sleeves – this is your job, not someone else’s. Third, start talking to people.

Those are the beginning steps. It’s the part where we clear everything out – including that thing that weighs a ton and was there when we bought the house – everything. A good clear idea where we want to go as a nation starts with a good, clear idea of where you want us to go as a nation.

Like every battle plan, it will be the first casualty. That’s okay – the next will be even better. This whole governance by the people thing is messy. But it’s also a lot of fun. Seriously, those political conversations you’ve been avoiding all your life to be ‘polite’ can be a blast! Sometimes you give someone else something to think about; sometimes you end up with something to think about. Most times, it’s both.

See, real conversations take us deeper. You can’t get that with just small talk. Sure, sometimes you have to let it go because someone gets upset – or you do. But that’s just inexperience. As you get better at it, it becomes a lot easier and much more satisfying than the usual oneupsmanship we get on social media.

No, social media isn’t inherently bad – we just like misbehaving when we think we can get away with it. Some of us like that way too much. Some of us just like to manipulate. Some lie. You know, normal people. You deal with them the same way you do in normal life: ignore the jerks, be friends when you can, don’t take crap and don’t dish it either.

Sure, much easier said than done – what in life isn’t? The point is none of this is as big, scary or impossible as we let ourselves believe. We the People are the source of governmental authority. That’s a huge responsibility. But so is cleaning the garage – it’s never as hard in reality as we scare ourselves into believing.

Come on, we can do this. Like cleaning the garage, it’s just one step at a time.

Let’s get started!