The Importance of Civic Engagement in US(All of Us)

It's more than just about voting every 2 or 4 years at the ballot box. And it is more important than ever.

First off, our prayers to the state of Hawaii as they go through the recovery efforts following the Maui wildfires. Again, whether it’s Hawaii, Alaska and its warming temperatures, or Southern New England with the tornadoes that came by the region today, we are living in the climate crisis we once thought was years ahead of us.

When I was young, I thought politics was a rather distant activity. In other words, politicians remain quite distant from the people, and politics itself is left to the officeholders-except for when we render in our judgment at the ballot box. Nothing is farther from the truth. And rightfully so.

For the American public-and especially young people-we need to realize civic engagement is more than just voting every 2 or 4 years. There’s actually a lot we can do and must do to bring change, bring results, and bend the arc towards opportunity, justice, and equality. Not just by voting either.

Campaign volunteering is another simple way of promoting people-and more importantly, causes. As basic as it is, it teaches us a lot about the benefits of having a democratic republic, being able to engage with other people and grow coalitions, and bringing change in a systemic way. It gives us direct engagement by electing people who have the knowledge and expertise of being in government while sharing our values and maintaining their connections to the community. Grassroots events-even protests if used effectively-can garner similar results.

It’s a basic proposition, but an important one. It means we decide who we elect, when we elect them, how we do it, why we keep incumbents, and why it is appropriate in certain situations to kick officeholders out. That is the essence of our republic and of the democratic world.

Sometimes, it is taken for granted. Until recently, our nation has struggled with very low national voter turnout. It has been difficult to wind down the partisan polarization-greatly worsened by contemporary Republican Party leadership and the events of the Trump era. When less people engage in the process, it hurts all of us. It leaves voices out who need to be heard. It allows politicians to feel they don’t have to listen to everyone-or anyone. When we stay out of the process and preserve the status quo, it further incapacitates us from addressing the challenges that we face as a country. Democracy is all about your voice and your advocacy. Only you can represent yourself-individually or as a community.

This is a message I take to young people especially(and to other components of the progressive movement base). There is real and legitimate frustration over political representation in Washington DC today. I get it. Not many young people are on Capitol Hill even in the House of Representatives. The Senate is the oldest it has been in years based on age. Men vastly outnumber women in both chambers of Congress. So do whites over people of color. There are no black women and only one Latina in the US Senate today. Many members of Congress are well-off-either coming from a high-price law firm or from the business world. Not that identity politics should be the only thing that matters. But it’s very clear the Congress does not represent the full picture of the country, and thus is less attuned to all our interests. That explains part of the disconnect today with Washington.

The progressive movement-especially young voters-can play a crucial role in reforming government and getting it in sync with the times. Think of the 1974 Watergate Babies and those who followed them in 1976. Think of Joe Biden whose early engagement in politics influenced the kinds of issues the Senate was starting to take on. We need the new blood and energy with new approaches and ideas to the challenges we face today-on healthcare, education, a 21st century economy, consumer safety, worker rights, corporate accountability, environmental protection, climate action, fair trade, supply chains, infrastructure, transportation, affordable housing, childcare, elder care, voting rights, civil rights, criminal justice reform, drug policy, gun safety, and much more.

Civic engagement across the board can make a big difference. Barack Obama seized on this opportunity in 2008 in the record turnout that year on the backs of younger voters. President Joe Biden catapulted himself to the White House with notable outreach efforts to the African American community and suburban women. Young people are widely credited for the climate that came to be with the 2022 midterms. And it matters even more now.

Look at the Tennessee Three and the change that was brought fueled by young people and black voters among others from Memphis to Nashville. Look at the progress made in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota this past year because of state legislatures and state supreme courts flipping to Democrats-allowing bold agendas to pass through those Midwestern state houses. Don’t forget Ohio where voters just knocked down a GOP-backed ballot measure with election year turnout despite the special election contest being scheduled in the middle of summer. Look even at Trump’s rapport that he established over the years with his own voters that locked in Rural America and the American Heartland.

These are real differences. Don’t believe me? Look at places where people aren’t engaged. Florida is one example where low Democratic Party turnout has given Ron DeSantis and his Tallahassee allies full control of state government unmitigated. Or North Carolina, where the GOP supermajority legislature wants to further nullify voices and stack the election deck running contrary to their own state supreme court and the SCOTUS itself. Or Iowa, where Republicans rammed through a whole array of extreme legislation-not just the new 6-week abortion ban and other culture war bills promoted by Governor Kim Reynolds. When people don’t speak out, they lose one of their greatest privileges that you can earn in a democracy-and I would actually call it a right.

Take the words of former New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel: “For chrissakes! Do you think I was born old?” He has a point. We all start somewhere. We start small usually, but we have the chance to do big things.

The progressive movement-this entire country as a whole-can as well. Campaign volunteering and grassroots organizing is one way to start-having done canvassing myself, I can attest to that. But hell, you can do more. Keep up to speed on the pressing news story-with the local media or national press. Work or intern for an organization or cause you care about. Work the polling places as an election worker. Engage the community on local events-even if on a school board level. Be involved in local and state government and issues facing them. Run a campaign for someone. Even run for office yourself-we need more people to do that.

The greatest concern I have is that people will be too deterred from being involved. I say if you’re not involved, it’s guaranteed nothing will change. If you persist, stay in the game, remain in the boxing ring in some form, we can make real progress and deliver on the causes we all care about. The laws of politics are not the end all. In fact, they are shaped by people who decide whether or not they engage in the process and the ways that they do so. It may take time, but it’s worth the effort.

Civic engagement is a duty. A responsibility. A privilege we must use wisely as if it was a constitutional right. A tool we must use to bend the arc, to bring the American Dream into fruition again, to Build Back Better, to commit to a Progressive Promise, and to have a More Perfect Union for everyone.

Quick Political Side Note:

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin reviving a dark history in the state not seen since Joseph McCarthy. Could a recall election be necessary? Maybe for the sake of reality, decorum, sanity, and to some extent, even democracy itself…