By Robbie Bullis | City of Dewey, Walker County
As a member of the press corps, I quickly realized my only means of political activism was through my writing.
Being able to sit through meetings but unable to hold position or influence legislature felt like a drain, and my appreciation for the system was quickly pushed to its limit after the fourth fruitless meeting.
However, after a Dewey city meeting, the mayor split citizens into committees to discuss more specific issues. I raised my hand for the Judicial Committee and was thrust into the role of civilian lawmaker.
The previous few days have seen my recreational time occupied by seemingly endless minutes of sitting and waiting for the time to end. My lack of athletic interest and my enjoyment of the cool air-conditioning of “The Spot” left me feeling more comfortable at a table indoors than outside and running around.
Suddenly, as part of a committee, I was working with a group of my fellow citizens and creating brand new ordinances to submit to our aldermen.
Our first ordinance was the creation of a sanitation rule where punishment would be doled out to those with particularly messy rooms.
The second, we created a shower law which punished people who left their toiletries in the bathroom. They were punished with a shortened amount of time to shower.
The third ordinance proposed was a speed limit where walking would be enforced and running would only be allowed if the perpetrator of a crime was running like the character Naruto-arms outstretched behind you and head low.
The fourth ordinance we worked on was the proposed establishment of a music maker role in our city government with a citizen using their bluetooth speaker to build a playlist for us to march to.
Being able to work on ordinances and contribute my own ideas to the town legislature is an amazing thing. Despite not holding any position, I found my voice could be heard through both my written word and through the combined work of my friends on the Judicial Committee.
I even got involved in speech writing for others as my role in press has only felt more and more fitting for me. Being an active citizen isn’t just for position-holders and elected officials. Anyone can be active in their government here at BBS and can contribute.
