You continue to be my inspiration to keep caring about civic engagement, Lauren. My guess is that 2/3rds of us would be happy enough rubbing elbows with each other as we buzz through life in this four-demensional space. American politics is polarized 50/50 by maybe 25% far right and 8% far left playing to their bases and insisting on their "truth" on a straight line with no incentive for the other 67%.
We have met the enemy and he is us. I'm not sure political parties were ever intrinsically tuned into voters in a principled way. Elites were always a combination of power-mongering and ideology. In some ways, the smoke-filled rooms that gave us FDR served the people better. Those machine politicos in the smoke-filled rooms knew they had to deliver a chicken in every pot. They knew what motivated voters.
The social media landscape has given people just enough information for them to be more easily misled by someone like Trump. Real democracy cannot survive, in my opinion, with the current level of propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and corporate manipulation of political information.
To blame voters on either side is to ignore the circumstances and inputs that caused their votes. It is completely an elite failure. It is apparent to me now that there haven't been real leaders stepping up for at least thirty years. The heartening thing is once voters saw clearly what was going on in DC, they immediately honed in on the problem - "NO KINGS!" they said. They may not know civics, but they know tyranny when they see it.
For a long time I’ve thought that the primary system pull to the polar extremes that you suggest.
In North Carolina, independents can vote in the primary of their choice which provides a bit of influence, with the emphasis on “a bit”.
Sadly, without term limits, incumbents only care about preserving their seats. They clearly aren’t interested in meaningful change. It’s political inertia.
When people complain about Congress, our state legislature, and politics in general, I ask them what they are doing about it. Many of my friends are empty nesters and retirees who have time, money and knowledge but throw up their hands and avoid politics rather than getting involved. There are a lot of--too many--organizations trying to fix some or all of the system. Here in Houston and in Texas I have joined several groups and try to draw in others, building community along the way. Here I am involved in Texas No Labels, RCV for Texas, Braver Angels Houston, Principles First Texas, and started a Civics discussion group. I have fixed NOTHING but am staying engaged, making friends and gaining knowledge along the way. More people in the exhausted majority of America should--if able--contribute their time or treasure to fixing a part of the system.
Thank you for your thoughtful and nuanced post. One of my favorite books for years now, has been Thomas Frank's "Listen, Liberal" where he describes the problems of a meritocracy-based economy (gotta go to college to afford a decent life) and offers the alternative of a solidarity-based economy (EVERYONE gets to live like a human being.) Main reason I appreciate his perspective is, although I generally support progressive values, I also think that we can't change anything effectively as long as we are blaming others, instead of looking at our own role in helping create the situation....
something I particularly appreciate about your article, is your pointing out that it's not just about whether we have the trappings of a democratic PROCESS... but whether our democracy is bringing real economic benefits to the people at large. To the best of my understanding, this has not been the case for the last twenty years...
Thanks again for your work, and all best wishes...
You continue to be my inspiration to keep caring about civic engagement, Lauren. My guess is that 2/3rds of us would be happy enough rubbing elbows with each other as we buzz through life in this four-demensional space. American politics is polarized 50/50 by maybe 25% far right and 8% far left playing to their bases and insisting on their "truth" on a straight line with no incentive for the other 67%.
Thanks so much, SteveF! It’s readers like you who keep me writing. Thanks for weighing in.
We have met the enemy and he is us. I'm not sure political parties were ever intrinsically tuned into voters in a principled way. Elites were always a combination of power-mongering and ideology. In some ways, the smoke-filled rooms that gave us FDR served the people better. Those machine politicos in the smoke-filled rooms knew they had to deliver a chicken in every pot. They knew what motivated voters.
The social media landscape has given people just enough information for them to be more easily misled by someone like Trump. Real democracy cannot survive, in my opinion, with the current level of propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and corporate manipulation of political information.
To blame voters on either side is to ignore the circumstances and inputs that caused their votes. It is completely an elite failure. It is apparent to me now that there haven't been real leaders stepping up for at least thirty years. The heartening thing is once voters saw clearly what was going on in DC, they immediately honed in on the problem - "NO KINGS!" they said. They may not know civics, but they know tyranny when they see it.
Very insightful. Well done! Thank you.
For a long time I’ve thought that the primary system pull to the polar extremes that you suggest.
In North Carolina, independents can vote in the primary of their choice which provides a bit of influence, with the emphasis on “a bit”.
Sadly, without term limits, incumbents only care about preserving their seats. They clearly aren’t interested in meaningful change. It’s political inertia.
When people complain about Congress, our state legislature, and politics in general, I ask them what they are doing about it. Many of my friends are empty nesters and retirees who have time, money and knowledge but throw up their hands and avoid politics rather than getting involved. There are a lot of--too many--organizations trying to fix some or all of the system. Here in Houston and in Texas I have joined several groups and try to draw in others, building community along the way. Here I am involved in Texas No Labels, RCV for Texas, Braver Angels Houston, Principles First Texas, and started a Civics discussion group. I have fixed NOTHING but am staying engaged, making friends and gaining knowledge along the way. More people in the exhausted majority of America should--if able--contribute their time or treasure to fixing a part of the system.
Thank you for your thoughtful and nuanced post. One of my favorite books for years now, has been Thomas Frank's "Listen, Liberal" where he describes the problems of a meritocracy-based economy (gotta go to college to afford a decent life) and offers the alternative of a solidarity-based economy (EVERYONE gets to live like a human being.) Main reason I appreciate his perspective is, although I generally support progressive values, I also think that we can't change anything effectively as long as we are blaming others, instead of looking at our own role in helping create the situation....
something I particularly appreciate about your article, is your pointing out that it's not just about whether we have the trappings of a democratic PROCESS... but whether our democracy is bringing real economic benefits to the people at large. To the best of my understanding, this has not been the case for the last twenty years...
Thanks again for your work, and all best wishes...