Civil Independence, Civic Engagement
On February 11th 2011, news that Hosni Mubarek had stepped down as President of Egypt was thrilling the airwaves. I was in line at my local market. Dan, the owner, stood behind the store’s lone counter speaking about the unfolding drama to an old-timer who I would peg as a retired fisherman.
“Amazing, isn’t it?!” I commented. The man, who was a stranger to me, turned and snorted, saying “yeah, maybe someday we’ll be so lucky here.” Dan handed the guy his change and nodded in agreement. I was surprised by such openly insurrectionary language. These weren’t radicals, and they were not outliers by any measure.
We have come to a strange place in American history. The approval rating for Congress has vacillated between 9 and 17 percent over the past year. Historians estimate that King George III enjoyed more support among the American public during the Revolution. Through my work in the community, I have met thousands of citizens on their doorsteps, in schoolrooms, at community meetings, and in public hearings. Everywhere I hear the same disenchantment with the course we are heading and the political leaders who are charting it.
As far as we are from 1776, there is a similarity. Americans believe that they are being taxed without being represented. Whether we elect Democrats or Republicans, the system is rigged for the same result; more wealth going to fewer at the top and diminished upward mobility for everyone else. Skepticism in the political process has given way to cynicism, and many have simply opted out. Our voter participation rates are the lowest of the developed world.
Are our politics irredeemable?
If something doesn’t change soon, yes. Our apathy, cynicism, and lack of participation are license for our current political class to maintain the status quo, but there are reasons to believe things are changing, and we can renew our democracy. Firstly, apathy is in retreat; witness both the Occupy and Tea Party movements. Secondly, we don’t have to go through what the Egyptians are. The democratic apparatus set forth by our constitution is as fair and empowering as any in the world.
The right to vote is extended to almost everyone, and there is no restriction on who we can vote for. Admittedly the political system is dominated by two parties, but it doesn’t have to be so. There are in fact more people who identify as independents than there are who identify as either Republicans or Democrats. The raw materials for building an alternative to the two party system are at hand.
The skeptic will say that it’s impossible; that there’s too much money behind the current parties for independents to overcome them. To which I say, of course it will be hard, but it’s not impossible. Ask Bernie Sanders. We all know nothing worth fighting for comes easy. Moreover, all the money in the world can’t change the fact that the Democratic and Republican parties have lost their credibility to do anything effectively but bicker.
The biggest obstacle is not money, it is our cynicism. Did we really struggle for hundreds of years to give everyone access to the ballot box just to decide that voting doesn’t accomplish anything? How would Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, or Thomas Paine judge the lack of political participation that has come to characterize the United States?
It is incumbent upon us to be the change we wish to see. If you are one of those people who wonders where we went wrong, one who wonders what happened to honest civic minded leaders, maybe you are one. Let us lead by example. If you are that person or know her, run for office or tap her on the shoulder to let her know that she should and that you’ll help her win. Let this sense of civic responsibility define civil independence, and let us embrace it.
If we fail to get involved electorally and are satisfied merely to occupy the public square and decry the system as we vote for who we judge is the lesser of two evils, nothing will change. Our cynicism in politics will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The imbalances in societal power and wealth will continue to grow, and eventually we will be in the Egyptian position prior to the Arab Spring or perhaps more aptly in the Rhode Island colonist’s position prior to the burning of the Gaspee.
Abel Collins
176 Sycamore Lane
Wakefield, RI 02879
Joe Richer
8:40 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
Abel, you really have not said very much here. What specifically will you do if elected?
I am unhappy with the status quo as well...but talk of change without specifics is simply more of what ALL politicians now try to foist on us. In you effort to be different...you end up sounding like everyone else...in my humble opinion.