The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent -agent- during the 2007-2008 League.
City Council Meeting
I went to the Lansing City Council meeting in July, and I was quite surprised at what I learned there. What went on in that old, small room was something completely different than what I was expecting. I thought it would be a meeting of some of the city's leaders talking about different things that are going on. And, while they did do that, there were some other things that also happened that I was not ready for. The City Council meeting taught me about focusing on things that are significant, keeping and open mind, and most of all, respect and kindness.
With everything in life, you really need to prioritize what you spend your time on. There are some things that just don't need to be discussed for a half hour, or even thought about for that long. A lot more can be accomplished if you simply focus on the things that are important, and maybe just quickly going over the little things. At the City Council meeting, the members of the Council spent a lot of time on little things that may have been important, but could have been gone over in a lot less time than what they actually did.
Keeping and open mind is something that everyone could benefit from. That is how you can learn much more. When you actually realize that you don't know everything, and you seek the council and advice of those around you, you will learn so much more. There is no way that one person can know everything, and I think, for many people, it is easy to tune someone out when they start trying to tell you stuff that you think you already know. But when you take the time to listen and try and learn something from them, you will find that there is so much out there that you still have to learn about.
At the Council meeting, it seemed that when some of the citizens would get up to speak to the council members, they would tune them out and occupy themselves with other things. But some of the citizens that spoke really had something good to say, and I think the members should have been more attentive while the people were speaking to them.
That biggest thing I learned at this meeting was the importance of being respectful and kind to everyone, no matter what - especially when they are in authority over you. There were quite a few citizens that got up to speak that were just flat out rude to the mayor. They got up there and told him exactly how they feel about him. While I appreciate their honesty, I think there is a certain point where you don't have to tell someone exactly how they feel. The people would get up there and tell him to his face what a horrible person he was and how much they hated him.
First of all, he is an elected official, and also, placed in authority by God, and whether you like him or not, you still need to be respectful to him. Also, if you really want him to listen to your opinion, you need to address him and talk to him in a respectful way. No one is going to listen and take advice from someone that is completely rude to them. For example, that night, one man stood up there and said, "I support the idea of getting a new mayor." And another person said, "The police are just trying to pick a fight with us black people." Now, while this may be how they feel, I don't think it was necessary at all for them to say these things to the people that they are trying to persuade to agree with them.
The City Council meeting taught me about focusing on things that are significant, keeping and open mind, and most of all, respect and kindness. One other thing that I noticed was how important it is for Christians to get involved with their local government. The secular population is definitely letting their voices be heard, and its up to us to be a witness for Christ.
