I feel like encouraging local involvement is probably for the best. Especially local governance, building a healthy and sane-ish community, and cetera. And while a lot of posts here in response to your question, or even just about how perceivedly gross your question is or isn’t or the responses here seemingly might or might not be, are probably going to read as virtue signaling, I actually think that this is an interesting query at heart. Do we actually feel like we are making a difference at the local level? How? What matters there to us, can we impact it, and why?
To do a somewhat unrelated tangent which leads into my response… As regards the virtue signaling thing, I feel of two minds. Is it a problem to share what we find meaningful about that kind of thing, or to mention our lives outside the chat? Probably not, so long as we’re careful not to dox ourselves or whatever lol. I can definitely see some potential pitfalls, though, as regards caring or perceivedly caring more about bragging or kudos than actually helping or taking joy from the service or engagement or whatever itself. In that sense virtue signaling can be a problem. But to me it has a negative enough connotation that I don’t know if I’d consider sharing what is individually meaningful or what feels impactful about personal local engagement to be that term. At least not intrinsically. Cuz otherwise anytime one does anything remotely good or meaningful to them and talks about it or has “ego” (read any smidge of pride or self-respect) they’re doing the bad-wrong-talk. But at the same time, I do think some people care a lot about their own image, which while not intrinsically bad can be kinda annoying when it seems like folks care more about how they are presented or portrayed than who they really are and if they’re actually doing the right thing or contributing or whatever as opposed to pandering to a mob, often woke.
Unfortunately, as to said main question, whether it feels like I’m helping to make a difference locally… not as much these days. And back when I did it was partly motivated by a desire to get kudos and feel worthy or whatever, tying into the whole signaling thing. Admittedly I used to be a bit better in some ways, or at least a more involved and productive person than I am at the moment. But yeah, these days I’m not nearly as active in what used to be meaningful and feel pro-social or whatever on my end. I used to be a more engaged member of what was genuinely my religious community. I also had some involvement in helping with malnutrition among those who genuinely had it according to the identification of medical professionals. I was involved in scouting both in my childhood and for a bit thereafter, in a solid local troop with good people, engagement and values, before the most severe decline and collapse of that broader organization hit, so to speak. I was involved in a few other community organizations, projects, clubs and so forth over the years as well. Over time, though, I lost momentum and drive, became disillusioned or at least discouraged, and drifted away. I don’t go out as often to do things for others or the community or God or whoever as much anymore. And as a result I kinda feel somewhat more disconnected to the world outside my immediate family, friends, and house. In short, I feel less a part of my locality than I used to, and it’s not something to brag about.
On the other hand, I feel I no longer vote quite as poorly at the local level as I did during some of my college years, when I bought into more institutionally popular propaganda that mostly leaned to the left. That I will virtue signal and perhaps nonsensically brag about, lol.