As a political science major, I’ve always had a thing for politics. In the second grade, I dressed up as a John Kerry supporter for Halloween, and in the sixth grade I helped my Dad campaign for City Council. In high school I worked in the Colorado General Assembly and in college have worked to get students to the polls throughout the 2016 election. However, as I’ve grown up, I’ve seen a change in our countries perspective toward politics. When I was young, Americans trusted politics and saw it as the best way forward, but today a large majority of U.S. citizens have come to distrust and dislike politics.
Politics, by its nature, isn’t perfect. It sees two differing sides with vastly different opinions having to work together to come to a consensus. No one ever gets everything that they want and disappointment is normal. Yet, this muddled mess is also what makes politics so great: it requires a conversation in which we learn about opposing interests and begin to understand things from the other point-of-view. It is, without a doubt, the best way to govern divided factions without violence or a dictatorship.
Yet, recently, there has been a consistent effort in America to undermine politics. Groups on both sides of the political spectrum, although best optimized by the tea party, campaign on a premise that is strictly anti-political. They proudly advertise themselves for not being a part of the Washington establishment and boldly state that they will go to Washington and break up the corrupt political system. Realistically, however, this concept doesn’t work.
For starters, anti-political candidates make outlandish promises, such as Donald Trump’s promise that Mexico will pay for the border wall. Nevertheless, upon becoming elected, the politicians quickly realize they can’t make true on these guarantees. Coupled by their lack of political experience and limited knowledge of how the government works by never having served in it before, their far reaching promises almost always fail. This, in turn, leads to further public distrust of politics as voters never see the policies that were promised to them appear.
Perhaps most startling, though, is the anti-political crew’s refusal to compromise and actively participate in politics. By doing so, these politicians break down the legislative process and our government grinds to a halt. Actions created by this anti-compromising attitude, such as government shutdowns and a refusal to even consider Supreme Court nominations, further lead to cynicism in the electorate.
Even here at NC State, this cynicism has bled its way into our university. A recent NC State Pack Poll conducted last month found that 68 percent of students believe our country is headed in the wrong direction, up 5 percentage points from last year. Further, a bill was voted down in Student Senate last week that moved to abolish Student Government. The anti-political movement couldn’t rear its head in a clearer fashion than that.
Yet such an approach is not an answer to our woes. Come Election Day, we must reconfirm our belief in politics and understand that the anti-political movement only leads to greater disaster. More government shutdowns and an inability to legislate necessary change is not what we need. We must vote for the candidates who understand the importance of taking part in the political process, listening to opposing sides and working toward a compromise. Politics has never been perfect and never will be, but only by working through its system, as our country has done for the past 240 years, can we hope to keep our continuously divided country moving forward.
