It is encouraging to find so many random people in the Boston Common articulating the importance of following politics. Some of you might have seen the bumper sticker that says “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” At the NewBostonPost, we agree with that statement.
Unfortunately, only 26 percent of Millennials, those in their 20s and early 30s, consider politics to be a top priority. Granted, people of any age might feel contempt for much in present day politics.
Politics has become a sort of entertainment. It has a theatrical quality that hardly inspires us. In fact, we are all hoping for more substance. We are all hoping for real and constructive debates on issues that concern us. We all miss being drawn to deeper reflection on what it really means to be American.
There is no way around it: Politics is also personal. Culture is political. In fact, there is no way you can escape politics as long as you are a breathing member of any society and care about anything.
What is missing is a path to overcome the hostility and divisiveness that turns people away from deeper political analysis. Once we recognize the necessity of communicating somehow, once we remind ourselves of the importance of agreeing on basic principles, once we see the opportunities of collaboration ahead and accept our differences, we will, indeed, have found our common cause and a reason for civic engagement.
And politics, local and national, will draw us in as players who know the rules of fairness. And, once again, American democracy, much more than a sports event, can become the greatest show on earth.
