Get out of your armchair, put down your phone, and…

…run for office.

You owe it to your community, your country, and yourself.

I’m talking to you. Yes, you.

And I really mean it: You get yourself into a public office.

Go ahead and keep posting on social media. Go ahead and be a critic of the people in office now.

But, earn your credibility and your integrity by doing the job yourself.

It’s so easy to get into public office. It really, really is!

Do you belong to a house of worship? Volunteer to head up a committee.

Do you have a child in school? Run for school board or volunteer for one of the offices nobody wants on the PTA (secretary or treasurer).

Does your neighborhood have an association or block club? Put yourself out there as someone who is willing to organize, promote, and recruit its activities.

Do you live in a city, town, or village? Apply to serve on one of its many community boards (like the holiday parade committee, library board, planning commission, or zoning board).

And if you’re feeling really bold, plan to run for city, town, or village council.

To criticize politicians, don’t you think it would helpful to be one yourself?

To demand more of elected officials, don’t you think you should rise to the demands of office?

To insist that politicians solve more problems, don’t you think you should have to solve some political problems of your own?

And who knows where getting into office could lead you? Maybe you yourself can eventually get into state or federal office. Instead of saying “someone should do something about that,” you could turn out to be the person who actually does it.

Stop acting like you care about your country and start doing the work of caring for it. Stop talking about problems and get to work solving them.