The Promise of Politics

“The best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter”  - Winston Churchill.

That line is oft repeated jokingly when talking about our government, like when our government shutdown, and when traffic jams had a higher approval rating than congress.

Another such line many people repeat is “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of congress; but I repeat myself” – Mark Twain.

We hear this when congress fails to pass a bill to enact universal background checks on all gun sales, an issue that has over 90% support from the public.

Right now, our politics are in an age of pessimism. This is reflected in our news. A news outlet recently put out a story with the headline “CONGRESS’S APPROVAL RATING INCREASES BY 33%! What you don’t see in that headline is that congress’s approval rating rose from 12% to 16%. That’s pathetic.

The sad truth of Congress

When was the last time you remember Congress doing something amazing? Something that actually helped you out? Something that changed society for the better? That’s a hard question to answer. Yet, when you rearrange the question to ask: Who can help me out the most in my life? Who can remedy the public failures that are at the root of so many ills?

When you ask the second question, there is only one answer. The government. Yes, our politics of pessimism tell us otherwise, but congress has the capability to do great things. That’s why we elect them. That’s why America has had a stable government since the day the constitution was enacted.

An example of this might be the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards passed in 2011. It mandated that all cars built by 2025 have a gas mileage of at least 54.5 Miles. This change will increase the price of a car by about $2,000 but will lead to savings of over $6,600 in the lifetime of a car.

This is a drastic shift that affects every single one of us. Yet, who knew that this had happened? It doubles the gas mileage of almost every new car in America, makes our lives easier, and reduces our reliance on foreign oil. But who has called their congressman and congratulated them on these new standards?

Instead of looking at what Congress has done, we are focusing on what they have failed to do. They have failed to fix America’s broken immigration system, they have failed to deal with gun violence, they have failed address the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. They even shutdown the government over a failure to compromise.

Compromise isn’t a dirty word it’s a beautiful one. We shouldn’t shun those who work to find a consensus, we should embrace them. Being morally pure and only voting with your party is what both Democrats and Republicans like, but common sense solutions are what America needs.

Politics is the art of bringing people together to find consensus. It isn’t gerrymandering districts or raising enormous sums of money for reelection. I still believe that Barack Obama was right when he stated, “There isn’t a red America, or a Blue America. There is only the United States of America.”

That’s why I like politics. When politicians work together, and put country over party, great things can emerge. We need to ensure they do, and political participation by everyone is the best way to do so.