I offer this list of possible responses to our civic malaise. These are not the only effective options, and perhaps are not the best possibilities, but they are choices that make sense to me.

First, I no longer donate money to national campaigns. I’m simply tired of paying for television advertising, especially since my wife and I canceled our subscription to cable television years ago. Instead, I donate my surplus resources locally to help my neighbors.

Second, I ignore the horse race coverage of politics and focus on the actual problems and policy choices that we face. When I learn more about specific issues, I call my elected representatives and ask them to take specific actions, or I write an argument that I share in a public forum. This democracy will be healthy again when more of us are writing constituent letters and opinion letters in our words and above our signatures.

Finally, I focus on practical actions, knowledge and skills. I’m trying to learn about my small city’s economy so that I know exactly which economic policies will help my community. I will grow food, a lot of it, in a personal garden.

I look forward to the day when most Americans are too busy to wallow in cynicism and fear.

Nick Capo, associate dean and associate professor of English at Illinois College, writes as a public scholar and private citizen.