What are the policy issues in his suburb? Does his suburb allow for new housing construction, including subsidized housing? Or what are the policy issues in his county? Are there metro-wide organizations working on various community issues, and if so, what are those issues?
Or suggest he read Eitan Hersh's book, "Politics Is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change". https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Power-Beyond-Political-Hobbyism/dp/1982116781
That quote, attributed Jeffrey Escofier, is very interesting.
Nationalism of the "modern" philosophies of the 20th century attempted to define nationalism away from ethnic identity, and toward shared ideals such as democracy, freedom, and equality. It is interesting to note that liberalism and communism both attempted to do this (though obviously fascism and Nazism took the opposite tack).
The post-modern era is seeing a back-sliding to the more tribal pursuit of ethnic identity, away from the "modern" ideals that inspired the UU Seven Principles.
Philosopher Ken Wilber has a very interesting narrative of this historical development, in his book Trump and a Post-Truth World.