Political Apathy by Example
When I was growing up, most of the adults around me seemed bitter about politics. They had lived through the Vietnam War, inflation and a great period of social change and upheaval. By the time I was aware of things, many of the adults around me had given up hope of any meaningful change. I was surrounded by an environment hearing things like ” they are all crooks” and “it doesn’t matter who wins because things won’t change anyway.” Well, all of this influenced me. As a child of the 1980s this vaguely conservative, hopeless view of politics permeated through to the core of my beliefs.
When I got to voting age in the early 1990s, I really had no reason to get excited about politics. I also had no social awareness to see the need for getting involved.
Political Education: Start Where You Are
I had been raised in a culturally conservative environment, but I did have lots of questions about why everyone around me believed certain things. Without a big enough view of the world to look into the answers, or see any alternatives, I was stuck.
Then I graduated from undergraduate school and moved to a big urban inner city for the first time. Having spent the first 20 years of my life in a sheltered suburban existence, this was quite a wake up. I quickly learned that not everyone thought like my family, and even more shocking, that not everyone had the same opportunities in life or experiences with society. The (now embarrassingly small) injustices I felt in my life (healthcare costs, grad student debt, minor social discrimination) were nothing next to what I saw around me. Poverty, violence, drugs, seething racial mistrust, and a class system that everyone pretended did not exist.
Why Vote? Political Diversity
The cities I have lived in have all had their local governments dominated by a single political party. This has always bothered me, but when I would bring it up to anyone, they would say “that is how it is” or “if you aren’t part of that party, you don’t get a say in any local decisions.” This unilateral government really silenced discussion, multiple points of view and consolidated the power. I learned that more of us have to educate ourselves on the issues and put our own viewpoints and interests into the discussion.
Why Vote? Fighting for Yourself and Others
The funny thing about the bureaucratic way our government is set up is that we all feel like we are outside the dominant stream in one way or another. Living in such a complex society makes us all feel we are disadvantaged. And in one way, we all are. But of course some people are definitely worse off than others. It has only been in identifying the ways I myself am privileged that I have begun to develop a concept of social justice. Before I had always focused on the ways I was left out, and always focused on what I wanted to get from society.
Why Vote? To Grow and Change as a Person
A broader view of the people I live alongside has made me see that there are ways I can help other people. I truly have come to believe that by helping others, I can help myself. Voting is one of those things. Making your vote count requires more than just showing up at the polling place and pushing buttons. You have to be educated on the community as a whole. Spend time thinking about the issues and the difficult questions we are facing. Listen to the candidates running for office and be able to process what they are really saying.
Doing this makes you a more educated person, a better citizen, and more connected to others. For me, it has helped my personal spiritual growth in ways I never imagined.
Why vote? is part of the Brian belongs series.