I read many letters, blog posts and online comments that express a real frustration and powerlessness over is happening in government today. At the federal level, it looks like the Bush administration has managed to make one more massive money grab, before heading out the door.

At the state level, sources of tax revenue are being shuffled around at a dizzying rate, resembling a game of three-card-monty.

And at the local level, which may be the most maddening, the city and county grapple with a desperate financial situation, while numerous parties vie to protect their own interests. What makes the local government situation particularly frustrating is our proximity to it. Indianapolis seems far away, and Washington D.C. even further; but we see City Council members every day around town, and yet still feel like we can’t be heard.

What can we do? Actually, lots of things.

We can start by regaining the ability to talk to one another - to disagree without being disagreeable, to paraphrase Barry Goldwater - and raise the level of public debate.

Maybe when we used to have political discourse in barber shops, watering holes and around water coolers, and the person you were disagreeing with was standing across from you, there was more of a call for civility and consideration. But with the growth of mass communication - and not just the internet, but cable news, talk radio, media consolidation, all of it - there has been enough distance built in that the need for civility and respect is perhaps not as compelling.

It’s easier to call someone a libshit or repugnican when they aren’t standing there in front of you; and if one can do it anonymously, well, the temptation can be overwhelming for some - especially when they find themselves on the losing end of an argument.

It also invites a destructive element into the social policy conversation, one that thrives on divisiveness and discord, continuously tries to pit us at odds against one another, and strives to make us all preemptively defensive.

But if we can start where we agree - and reasonable people can find common ground on any issue - chances are better that we can work out the details on which we don’t.

We just have to be civil to one another, which I don’t think is too much to ask.

We can encourage others to do the same, and ignore the ones that don’t.

It’s easier said than done, especially when someone is trying very hard to be provocative; and I falter myself, sometimes. But I keep trying.

We can communicate with our public officials, and show our support, whether we voted for them or not. For one thing, if we demonstrate that we can celebrate their successes, they will be much more inclined to address our grievances. Further, if they know they have our support, it liberates them from the fear of alienating voters in their decision-making processes.

Think about our current Mayor. She barely won - and some maintain that she really didn’t - and as a result, she can’t be as bold as she would like to be, or as she should be. But imagine if there were this groundswell of voters that said to her “None of that matters, now. You’re the Mayor. Keep working for Muncie and we’ll have your back.” It’s as easy as writing a letter, and goes a lot further than most people think.

While you’re at it, share your ideas. Something that may seem obvious to you may not have occurred to someone else, especially if they’ve been insulated in a corporate, legal or public sector environment.

Call bullshit when you hear it. The person stating it may not know the information is incorrect or false, as with the people hearing or reading it. Be polite about it, but state the facts and back them up. Ideologues take far too much propaganda at face value, and are often a little too eager to disseminate it. Look how many people still think Barack Obama is a non-citizen, Muslim, and a terrorist sympathizer.

Question what you are told. Learn about it. Share what you learn and the ideas that spring from it.

Become an active member of your party. Look no one is more embarrassed by the behavior of the Delaware Democratic Party HQ than I am. They push people like me away because they don’t want to see the status quo change. I imagine the same goes for the local Republicans as well.

They’re part of the problem, and party members need to keep the pressure on their party leadership to be honest in their pursuits. At the same time, if they know they have solid support, they’ll be more likely to take political chances on new ideas.

The long and short of it is that the best thing to alleviate feelings of frustration and powerlessness is to be part of the change.