What civic parenting looks like in 2025
Capturing the civic "glimmers" that are actually all around us
I never expected to take a nearly 3 month pause from civics, but man I’m glad I did.
I didn’t realize how buzzy the word “pause” had become until I subliminally knew it was necessary while I gathered my post-November thoughts, absconded into the holiday season, and returned to LA to a 3+ week-long sickness that started as the flu and ended up like an adolescent ear infection.
I’ve been recovering amidst evacuation warnings and widespread devastation and grief from the fires; coming to terms with friends and colleagues losing their homes as I wind down the job that was the reason we migrated to the west coast and started our life as a family of 3 (plus JoJo) here instead of New York, the city I never imagined leaving until we did. I’ve been mentally preparing to start a new job, one that is in every way a dream come true, my own Hollywood Oliver Twist story, finding my footing as a lifelong east coaster acclimating to air quality indices and wind alerts and the constant hum of air purifiers.
With all the unknowns, one thing keeps coming back to me: civics is bigger than politics. And, the idea that it’s incumbent on all of us — especially those of us raising small humans — to feel that in an unshakeable way.
I still don’t quite know how to come back to the conversation, but I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. I’ve said from the beginning: parents don’t have the luxury of despair.
We can’t throw up our hands.
We (in procreating) made this deeply optimistic choice to contribute to humanity and for better or worse, we’re going to leave this earth just a bit kinder, more empathetic, more tolerant and yes, more civically-minded than the generation before us.
Another buzzy word has been top of mind these past few weeks: glimmer.
This week, as part of my coming-back-to-civics, I’m mining the archives of the past 15 months since I started this Substack to craft a “Best of Civic EQ” post for all the new subscribers I’ve had since the Great Pause of November 6, 2024.
The “best of” post will be geared towards highlighting the most meaningful resources/civics advice I uncovered in my quest to help parents not only raise civic-minded kids, but to reengage in our own civic journeys. Mine included, btw.
Because to be totally frank — I’m drained by the way I feel every time someone asks me how Civic EQ is going. I don’t want to say “I’m intentionally not thinking about civics,” because it isn’t really true. I showed up for this Substack religiously for over a year as a young mother and career entertainment lawyer and it was positively thriving. But like most of us, I needed to recalibrate.
Stay tuned for the next post. I think it will make you see that there really are civic “glimmers” every day. People showing up for each other, and our youngest citizens doubling down on things like the environment, and helping others — the things that make civics so distinguishable from politics. Yes, politics will always be there. That’s a given. But then there’s the chance for a civics renaissance that parents are uniquely positioned to make happen. Let’s do it.
More soon,
Sarah
Yes, give us the glimmers!! (This already was one).