Much of the American public presently suffers from political apathy, manifesting itself most visibly in our record low voter turnout, overwhelming political dissatisfaction, and an open chasm where civic education should be.
None of this is surprising. Most Americans have tuned out due to the perceived hopelessness of these political times.
One of the authors of this piece has addressed this idea before, arguing that civic engagement is the principal method by which the individual citizen can address faction.
In furtherance of that idea, we implore readers to realize that our apathy drives many of the negative effects of our political age. The causal line runs from apathy to its costs, not the other way around. Absent a seismic shift back toward a default of civic participation, we can expect cascading costs which we all must bear.
Let’s start with the cost of extremism. In the real world (not social media), most people hold relatively moderate and malleable views on all but a handful of issues. Even those who are inflexible on certain matters (ourselves included) trend away from the far extremes, particularly when regularly engaging with others of various viewpoints.
But political representation is, in some sense, zero-sum. When the moderate majority of voters tune out due to fatigue, lack of trust, or otherwise, they hand their political agency over to the remaining participants. Most often, the shift tends toward the poles of political thought and not toward the middle. More extreme positions become overrepresented, and soon enough, elected officials begin adopting the aims and vocabulary of the extreme. Our government stops being a reflection of “We The People” and instead becomes a reflection of “They Who Keep Shouting.” And we all live with the results. Is there any reader who does not see this happening in Congress, statehouses, and beyond?
An important caveat before we move on – in referring to “extremism” in this piece, we refer to beliefs well outside the historically-held views of the majority on an issue. Extremism as a political stance is certainly not inherently destructive and can be necessary, but the ethos upon which our republic was founded requires that the extreme be heard but not kowtowed to – that those holding heterodox views must prove the validity of those views and persuade the majority to adopt them. In short, the tail should not wag the dog.
Another cost of apathy is dysfunction. Operating in the conditions set by extremism’s costs, political leaders feel they must cater to the extreme to gain and wield authority. This is true for virtuous actors and those with less pure motivations. When that happens, it becomes less likely that highly effective governance results.
Whether we like it or not, much of the output of government that we enjoy as citizens occurs because of compromise. But the incentive to compromise fades when the electorate seems to migrate away from the middle, and the ability to compromise completely disappears when the same is happening on “the other side.” And so, we end up with phenomena like the least productive Congress in decades.
Of course, this doesn’t just impact Congress. Those pesky concepts of separation of powers and federalism mean that our government must work effectively both horizontally among its branches and vertically among the federal and state distribution of authority. None of this is made easier when our apathy leads to the costs of extremism and dysfunction.
All of that is bad, but the highest cost of apathy is tyranny. Once we decide to pay that cost, there is no going back. If extremism gives way to dysfunction for long enough, history is alarmingly clear that the conditions are set for forfeiture of our freedoms and the rise of despots. As the popular wisdom goes, we are but “one generation away.”
Each generation of Americans must choose to steer our civic life away from or toward our American principles. That necessarily involves putting a hand on the plows we’ve been given – the vote, the ballot, the pen — both when times are good and otherwise. And it necessarily involves doing so at home first.
What happens when we fail to do this en masse? History is rife with examples of tyrants grabbing power from citizens to the ruin of their societies.
These are trying times. It’s not hard to understand why people are checking out. Democratic principles are under attack around the world, global conflict is on the rise, and our own country is facing significant challenges in an aging, financially insecure majority, a border crisis, a culture war, and other issues.
How can one citizen change any of this? No one citizen can change it alone, but we can together. It’s not easy, but it is simple. When we each recognize that apathy itself is a driver of these phenomena, we can choose to engage the systems that shape our shared civic life. When that happens, we invariably make our government because we make it more reflective of us.
From the fertile soil of the American experiment has bloomed more human flourishing than from any single nation in history. We are the gardeners, trusted to tend this soil by the privilege of our citizenship. Will we throw down our spades at the sight of a few weeds? Or will we wipe our brows and get back to it?
Despite the doom and gloom in this piece, we believe this American Republic will yet thrive. We are civic optimists. No nation in history has paired a system so artfully designed with a people whose character so yearns for liberty.
We pledge here to do our part to try and reject apathy and engage. We hope you will do the same.
And let us now be abundantly clear that engagement not only can but must take many forms. Help a neighbor in need; solve a problem in your community; write a letter to your congressional representative; read a bill, not just a tweet about it; learn about your city, county, and state government; and vote every time you get the chance! A civil society requires all of the above.
The American experiment requires engaged Americans, and the world needs a principled America as much as ever before. Let’s embrace the privilege we have to tend this garden together.
Lee G. Barkley lives in Huntsville. His professional and personal interests lie at the intersection of faith, civic life, and the marketplace. He can be reached at leegbarkley@gmail.com. Scott Woodard is a husband, father, and attorney. He lives in Huntsville, Alabama, and enjoys reading about and writing on the intersection of civic and political theory.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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