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Democracy rarely collapses in a single dramatic moment. Lately, however, it can feel as though those type of moments are arriving faster and more frequently, piling up in ways that leave people disoriented and unsure where to look. What often gets lost in that rush is not concern, but orientation – a shared sense of where we are, what matters, and how any of it connects.
Long before laws are tested or elections contested, something more basic starts to fray: the everyday understanding of how our communities work and who is accountable to whom.
I’ve found myself asking a simple question more often lately: Where do people actually see themselves inside public life anymore?
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That question keeps leading me back to local journalism and to why its decline should concern anyone who cares about democracy.
Democracy doesn’t live only in Washington or Harrisburg. It lives in school board meetings, zoning decisions, municipal budgets, local courts, and elections that rarely make national headlines. It lives where policy meets daily life. Local journalism is how those places stay visible. The @buckscountybeacon.com Looks Back at 2025 | Editor @cmychalejko.bsky.social reviews 10 stories that he really appreciated from this past year. What story or stories did you appreciate this year? And what would you like us to report more on in 2026? Please leave a comment. — Bucks County Beacon (@buckscountybeacon.com) 2025-12-30T12:38:18.282Z
When local reporters attend meetings most of us can’t, sift through public records, and follow issues over time, they make public life legible. They help citizens see not just what happened, but why it matters, who made the decision, and what the consequences may be. Without that work, power doesn’t disappear – it simply operates out of view.
National media plays an important role, but it works at a distance. Democracy, however, is practiced close to home. I’ve noticed that when local reporting weakens, people don’t just lose information – they lose orientation. It becomes harder to tell where influence actually lives, or how individual participation connects to outcomes.
What often gets labeled as apathy looks different up close. Many people I speak with aren’t indifferent; they’re resigned. They’ve absorbed the sense that nothing they do matters, or that no one is really listening. When that happens, public life shrinks. Engagement gives way to spectatorship, and frustration seeks expression through outrage or grievance rather than responsibility.
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