After the Midterm Elections
(Opinion by Public Affairs Chairman, Gregory Schroeder, P.E.)
We are all glad that the elections are over. No more annoying political ads, especially the awful attack ads interrupting our favorite TV shows. Now we can get back to life without political interruptions, right?
Well, just wait, aren't the issues still there, and weren't those issues important enough to get us to go out and vote, and maybe even talk about our favorite candidates? Actually, now is the time to get active and follow through on our commitments to support our political leaders and the causes that we are passionate about. It has to be true that most people will sit back and take a breather from politics. When others are quiet, your voice will carry more weight.
In Wisconsin and in Washington, we will have divided House and Senates. Is this good or bad, or it just is? The result is that the things that can get done will be the ones that can be nonpartisan politically. An example would be infrastructure! Is this not civil engineering's top priority?
Even before the newly elected take office, the Republican dominated branches of government will be putting forward a slate of bills to pass before the incoming freshmen representatives can create a democratic majority. Those bills deserve timely review and input from us, the represented.
The Wisconsin state budget appears to have some challenges in the next biennium. What are the expenditures for which cuts should be off limits, and where do you think some trimming is in order?
You may need to read up and do some research. ASCE can help. Join Key Contacts. Read the ASCE advocacy web pages. Review the ASCE 'grand challenge'. Look at the national infrastructure report card. What topic from the infrastructure report card captures your interest? The report card was published in 2017, and the next one will be 2021, so it should still be considered 'fresh'. Select an issue and become well versed in what needs to be done.
Write your congress persons, both federal and state. Write Scott Walker. Write the president. Write to governor elect Tony Evers. Tony's web site still has an email address and a phone number.
Are you active in social media? ASCE has twitter ideas. Make civil engineering issues and advocacy a part of your Facebook page. Comment on blogs, or create your own. Create a guest column for this spot in our newsletter. Write to newspapers. By the way, the ASCE Washington staff is a great resource for support of such efforts.
Go to ASCE Collaboration, and share your opinions with your fellow civil engineers. Start a new opinion piece, or add your comment to items that are posted. If we use ASCE Collaboration to discuss our concerns and views, we can hone our message. We can dig into the issues and challenge each other's thinking. Solutions and ideas that we create within our discussions can be put forth as a consensus at the highest levels. That is how we will help to shape the future of civil engineering and our country.
This article is posted to ASCE Collaborate in the Wisconsin Section community. Please comment there. If you have topics for discussion, feel free to email me at gregory.schroeder@... or make your post on ASCE Collaborate in the Wisconsin Section community.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author only, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Wisconsin Section or ASCE.
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Gregory Schroeder P.E., M.ASCE
Senior Engineer
Lake Geneva WI
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