Politics Isn't a Spectator Sport

David Bernell

 

Politics isn't a spectator sport, and you're in the game whether you like it or not, and regardless of whether you want to be in it. 

 

People tune out politics all the time. That's understandable. People get turned off by politics. That's not surprising. When things work -- the Social Security check arrives, the garbage gets picked up -- people tend not to focus on politics. That sounds about right. 

 

People say politics doesn't concern them. That, however, is flat out wrong. 

 

Politics sets the contours and rules for how our lives operate, and it affects things big and small. Whether we have elections or dictatorships, market economies or command economies, Jim Crow laws or the Civil Rights Act. It impacts the local schools, what they teach, how much money they have. Politics impacts the availability of electricity and how much it costs, the existence and the condition of city streets and highways, the functioning of stock markets and the rules banks have to follow to safeguard your money. It determines how free religious organizations and the press can be from government control, the right to vote, tax rates, food safety, building codes...the list goes on and on.

 

It's all political, because politics sits at the center of how we live our lives. 

 

And in the United States of America, we give individuals and organizations great opportunities to steer politics in the direction they want. There are over half a million elected positions in the U.S., and the people in those jobs make all those decisions about schools and building codes and voting procedures and abortion rights. 

 

But decisions are made by those who show up, those who realize that their votes and voices and decisions count for something. If you don't show up to vote or weigh in on politics in some way, you've still made a choice, and your decision will impact politics by giving someone else the right to make decisions for you. And you may not like what they decide. 

 

You think politics is a waste of your time? You think people in office are corrupt or compromise too much? You're not that pure. You're not above this. And the people who care enough to vote, donate money to candidates, run for office, write articles and blogs, call and write elected officials -- they love you. You've given your power and influence to them. 

 

Abraham Lincoln was right. We have government of the people, by the people, and for the people. But he wasn't entirely right. We only have these things when people take the time, energy, and often the risk of becoming involved in the world of politics.

 

My own view is that the greatest problem we face today is the threat to democracy, freedom, and the Constitution from the Republican party. Trump and Trumpism, MAGA, and the efforts among the GOP, which they have taken over, to ensure their minority rule by bending the electoral process in their favor is insidious and dangerous. And there's no guarantee that the sane majority will win this fight, especially if they don't fight back. So I have to show up. I'll vote, I'll donate money, I'll write, I'll work on behalf of candidates I support (though I don't think I'll be running for office).   

 

For 246 years, through all kinds of threats, people in this country have managed to preserve the United States of America, and at our best we've expanded freedom and opportunity (though far too slowly and far too selectively). It would be a tragedy to let this disappear on our watch, especially when I see what the alternatives could be. 

 

If you need a little inspiration, take a look at Liz Cheney's concession speech when she lost the primary election in her bid to get re-elected to Congress. She said that, 

 

"Our duty as citizens of this republic is not only to defend the freedom that's been handed down to us. We also have an obligation to learn from the actions of those who came before...This is a fight for all of us together. I'm a conservative Republican. I believe deeply in the principles and the ideals on which my party was founded. I love its history. And I love what our party has stood for. But I love my country more. So, I ask you tonight to join me. As we leave here, let us resolve that we will stand together—Republicans, Democrats, and independents—against those who would destroy our republic."

 

Even if you don't agree with Cheney's politics, it's hard to find fault with her view of the primacy of the Constitution and the country over one's political party. These words could have been expressed by anyone who loves the promise of American democracy.

 

So if you don't like the direction of things going on in the country, and you ask yourself, "What can I do?" the answer is: plenty. So let's get to work.