A lot of people focus on national and state politics, and feel that local politics don’t matter. Sadly, that isn’t true. Local government is the backbone of democracy, a process everyone should participate in.

French politician Alexis de Toqueville said that local government is “the life and mainspring of America”. He understood that democracy in America was founded on the principle and supported by the backbone of local free elections.

Do not fall victim to the ideology that your local elected officials don’t matter in the great scheme of things. Your vote always matters.

Here’s a good way to look at it. Let’s use the hot topic issue of 2nd Amendment Rights. Localities across the state of Virginia are passing Second Amendment Sanctuary City referendums and resolutions. This tells the state that the majority of voters want their rights preserved. It shows that elected officials are standing up for the constituents.

The state then listens. When an overwhelming majority of the state is raising their voices in unison, state officials listen.

So vote. Vote for democracy. Vote against tyranny. Make your voice heard.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.